Week 2 day 2: If I HAD THE WINGS OF AN ANGEL

Casting a furtive glance over his shoulder, the felon slipped out the main prison gate to be
swallowed up in the British fog. A plethora of escapes from supposedly secure prisons
embarrassed the hapless wardens. To compound their problems, the officials were badgered
by irate citizens who accused the guards of accepting bribes from convicts whose motto was:
“Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.” 倒装句,最严密的监狱并非由石头墙或者铁栅栏构建而成

朗读视频:02.1100 Words you need to know - Week2 Day2 - If I Had the wings of an angel_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

Furtive

词性:adj.
音标:[ˈfɜrtɪv]
释义:鬼鬼祟祟的,贼头贼脑的,秘密的

If you’re looking for a formal adjective to describe something sly or secret, sneak in furtive. Let’s hope the teacher doesn’t see your furtive attempts to pass notes in class!

The adjective, furtive, is related to fūrtum, the Latin word for theft or robbery. This is apparent as the expressions “to give someone a furtive glance” and “to steal a glance at someone” mean the same thing. If a person’s manner is furtive, he or she is acting suspiciously. Secret, stealthy and sly are all similar in meaning, but they lack this image of a thief’s actions.


I saw one of the defendants make a furtive movement.


Try not to look so furtive,Harry.


l need to know if you’ve had strange men in your store… specifically men in their thirty buying feminist literature, acting angry, or furtive,or in any way out of the ordinary.


He’s furtively looking at my mother.

Felon

词性:n
音标: [ˈfɛlən]
释义:重罪犯;

Technically, a felon is anyone who’s been convicted of a serious crime, but you can use felon to describe anyone you think has done something terrible.

For a felon, it’s being paraded in handcuffs in front of the public that can be the worst part of being convicted. In some countries, you’re considered a felon simply because the king says that you are. Here in the U.S., though, you’re innocent until proven guilty, at which point people can call you a felon. My boyfriend took the dog, the TV, and my expensive French sauté pan after we broke up. If you ever run into the felon, please kick him in the shins, and tell him he’s a criminal.


Much of today’s hearing is hinging on the testimony of Ralph Myers, a convicted felon who was the key witness against McMillian in the original trial.


First degree, felony rape.


three pills, that’s felony weight.


We’re investigating a felony, Miss Demeanor.


Oh, that’s right. That’s felonious [fə’loʊnɪrs] assault. Search him, Brody.


I also want you to know… that I’m aware of both the incident in the student store… and your felonious possession of a concealed weapon.

plethora

词性:n.
音标: [ˈplɛθərə]
释义: 过多,过剩

Plethora means an abundance or excess of something. If you have 15 different people who want to take you on a date, you have a plethora of romantic possibilities.

Plethora comes from the Greek for “fullness.” Although it was originally used only in old-fashioned medicine to describe the condition of having too much blood, we use it to talk about any excessive supply. If you run a theater and all the seats are taken, that’s a full house. But if the seats are full and people are standing in the aisles, you have a plethora of patrons. The stress is on the first syllable: PLETH-uh-ruh.


Is anyone else disturbed by the plethora of left over poles and fabric?


We have a plethora of agents who have now reached this milestone.


We got a plethora of sandwiches for ya!


I HAVE A PLETHORA OF DIRTY LAUNDRY AND NOWHERE TO DO IT.

词性:adj.
音标: [ˈhæplɪs]
释义:倒霉的,不幸的

Use the adjective hapless to describe someone unlucky and deserving of pity, like the hapless car buyer who gives in to the fast-talking salesperson.

The word hapless traces all the way back to the Old Norse word happ, meaning “chance, good luck.” Combine this with the suffix -less (“lacking”) and hapless means “unlucky” or “ill-fated.” A traveler who goes to Moscow and briefly gets lost on the subway? Just a tourist. A traveler who goes to Moscow, accidentally eats food he is allergic to, somehow loses all his money, and by chance gets on a train destined for Mongolia? Definitely hapless.


He’s actually kind of sweet, in a hapless way.


So they grab two hapless kids and throw them in prison?


We prefer the term “Hapless victim.”

Pyrrhic victory 皮洛士式胜利

皮洛士(前319年至前272年)是伊庇鲁斯国王,罗马共和国称霸亚平宁半岛的主要敌人之一。前281年,位于意大利半岛底部的希腊城邦塔林敦因与罗马共和国开战,而向亚德里亚海对岸的伊庇鲁斯国王皮洛士求援。后者率领一支由2.5万名步兵和约20头战象组成的大军在意大利南部登陆。这是罗马人第一次面对来自意大利以外的外国军队。

前280年春,双方在赫拉克利亚战役中进行了第一次较量。战斗过程中,罗马军团的组织和战斗能力并不比对方的马其顿方阵逊色,因而抵挡住了对方的正面步兵进攻。而侧翼则是罗马人不擅长的骑兵对阵对方的骑兵及战象的凶猛冲击,刚一交战便抵挡不住溃败下去。失去侧翼保护的罗马军团伤亡惨重,伤亡7000人,被俘2000人。而皮洛士也付出了惨重的代价,伤亡约4000人。

前279年,双方又在阿斯库路姆附近开战。皮洛士依靠有利地形和战象的帮助再一次打败了罗马人。此役,罗马伤亡6000人,而皮洛士也再次付出了伤亡3550人的沉重代价,其中还包括他的一些重要将领及好友。

皮洛士在两次战役中都取得了胜利,而且伤亡也比罗马人少。但是罗马人能够在战斗结束后马上补充兵员,而海外作战的皮洛士却迟迟得不到兵力补充,故而两次胜利并未给罗马人以致命打击,罗马人士气依然高涨。相反,这样的胜利却为日后皮洛士的失败埋下了隐患。无怪乎,在阿斯库路姆战役后,当有人向皮洛士祝贺时,他不无伤心地说:“再来这样一次胜利,我自己也完了。”(希腊语:Ἂν ἔτι μίαν μάχην νικήσωμεν, ἀπολώλαμεν.)

由此,“皮洛士的胜利”也就成了代价惨重的胜利的代名词。虽然“皮洛士的胜利”通常都被用于战争。但是,它也被广泛应用于商业、政治、法律、体育等领域,用以形容类似的代价高昂的胜利。

We define Pyrrhic victory as “a victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it.” The word comes from the name of Pyrrhus, a long-ago king of Epirus, who suffered heavy losses in defeating the Romans at Asculum in Apulia in 279 B.C.E.

You may occasionally encounter Pyrrhic used without being followed by victory ; in such cases it still carries the meaning of “achieved at excessive cost.”


That is precisely the kind of Pyrrhic victory


Is a pyrrhic victory really a win? look, little lady don’t you “little lady” me.


You afraid it might be some kind of Pyrrhic victory?