精读(第四册)第九单元 The Discus Thrower 词汇讲解

11S.4.9 Text 1, Unit 9
The Discus Thrower
Richard Selzer Vocabulary
1. discus (n.) a heavy plate-shaped object which is thrown as part of a sports event.
例句：He won the discus at the Montreal Olympics.
形近词：discuss, disuse, disgust, disco
2. stance (n.) a way of thinking about something, especially expressed in a publicly stated opinion:
例句：The doctor's stance on the issue of abortion is well known.
同义词：attitude, viewpoint, opinion, standpoint, angle.
形近词：staunch, stand, stanza
3. assemble (v.) to come together in a single place or bring parts together in a single group.
同根词：assemblyman, assembly, assembler, assemblage
同义词：gather, collect, meet, muster, rally, congregate, convene
反义词：disperse
形近词：resemble
△ 4. furtive(adj.) behaving secretly so that other people do not notice them, or (of actions) done secretly and often quickly so that people do not notice.
例句：There was something furtive about his behaviour and I immediately felt suspicious.
同根词：furtively, furtiveness
同义词：secretive, stealthy, secret, sly, sneaky, cautious
反义词：open, above abroad
形近词：fugitive, futile, fertile.
5. tan (v.) if a person or their skin tans or is tanned, they become brown as a result of spending time in the sun.
例句：Her skin tans very quickly in the summer.
同根词：tannish
△6. vile (adj.) unpleasant, immoral and unacceptable
例句：This vile policy of ethnic cleansing must be stopped. 必须停止这种卑鄙的种族清洗政策。

同根词：vilely, vileness
同义词：foul, nasty, unpleasant, bad, disagreeable, horrid, dreadful, offensive, obnoxious
反义词：pleasant
形近词：file, vie, vice
7. repose (n.) rest
例句：Your face is so beautiful in repose.
同根词：reposeful, reposal
同义词：relax, rest, recline, sleep
反义词：work, activity
形近词：reprove, repulse, impose, repute, refuse, revise.
△ 8. snowbound (adj.) (of vehicles or people) unable to travel because of heavy snow, or (of roads) not able to be travelled on or reached because of heavy snow.
例句：Hundreds of vehicles have become snowbound and police are warning people not to travel on this
stretch of the motorway.
形近词：snowboard, snow-blind, snowbird
△9. bonsai (n.) a very small tree that is grown in a small container and is stopped from growing bigger by continually cutting the roots and branches.
例句：The room was decorated with trimmed dwarf Japanese bonsai trees.
10. prune (v.) to cut off branches from a tree, bush or plant, especially so that it will grow better in future.
例句：She spent the afternoon pruning roses. 她花了一下午修剪玫瑰。

同根词：pruner
同义词：trim, thin, crop, clip, neaten, tidy up
形近词：prude, prone
11. facsimile (n.) an exact copy, especially of a document.
同义词：copy, reproduction, duplicate, photocopy, replica, likeness
反义词：original
形近词：factitive
△12. prop (v.) to support something physically, often by leaning it against something else or putting something under it.
例句：She was sitting at the desk with her chin propped on her hands.
同义词：lean, rest, set, stand, place, lay, steady.
形近词：prod, prow, plop, poop, prep.
△ 13. cup (v.) to make your hands into the shape of a bowl.
例句：She gently cupped the small injured bird in her hands.
形近词：coup, cud, cub, cue, cut, cap, cop.
14. acknowledge (v.) to accept, admit or recognize something, or the truth or existence of something. 例句：Historians generally acknowledge her as a genius in her field.
同根词：acknowledgement, acknowledgeable
同义词：admit, accept, grant, allow, recognise, realise
反义词：reject, deny
△ 15. cache (n.) a hidden store of things, or the place where they are kept.
例句：They hid a cache of guns in the basement.
同根词：cacheable
同义词：hoard, store, stock, supply, reserve.
形近词：cachet
△16. kickshaw (n.) a fancy but insubstantial cooked dish, especially one of foreign origin.
形近词：kick-start
17. awkwardly (adv.) difficult to use, do, or deal with
例句：The car was parked awkwardly across the pavement.
同根词：awkward, awkwardness
同义词：difficult, tricky.
反义词：easy, straightforward.
△18. stump (n.) the part of something such as tree, tooth, arm or leg which is left after most of it has been removed
例句：Her smile broadened to reveal two rows of brown stumps.
同根词：stumpy
同义词：stub, end, remnant, remains, butt, segment.
形近词：sump, slump, stamp, stomp.
△19. scab (n.) a rough surface made of dried blood which forms over a cut or broken skin while it is healing.
例句：The wounds started to itch and she scratched the scabs off.
同根词：scabby, scabbed
形近词：scan, scar, stab.
△20. forceps(n.) a metal instrument with two handles used in medical operations for picking up, pulling and holding things. 镊子
形近词：forced
△ 21. shard (n.) a piece of a broken glass, cup, container or similar object.
例句：Shards of glass have been cemented into the top of the wall to stop people climbing over.
同义词：piece, fragment, bit, chip, scrap.
形近词：share, shark, sharp
△22. disinfectant (n.) a substance which contains chemicals that kill bacteria and is used especially for cleaning surfaces in toilets and kitchens.
例句：Rinse it with clean water and disinfectant.
同义词：bactericide, germicide, antiseptic
形近词：disinfect, disinvestment
23. inert (adj.) not moving or not able to move.
例句：The inert figure of a man could be seen lying in the front of the car.
同根词：inertia
同义词：unmoving, motionless, immobile, still, stationary, dormant, senseless.
反义词：moving, active.
形近词：insert, invert, inept.
△24. athwart (prep.) across, from one side to the other.
例句：They put a table athwart the doorway.
△25. nasty (adj.) bad or very unpleasant
例句：She has a nasty habit of picking on people in meetings.
同根词：nastily, nastiness
同义词：unpleasant, disagreeable, disgusting, distasteful, awful, dreadful, odious, nauseous, hideous 反义词：nice, delightful, lovely, pleasant.
形近词：natty
26. dome (n.) a shape like one-half of a ball
例句：Gerald had a long grey beard and a shiny bald dome.
形近词：domed, tome.
27. probe (v.) to try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions in an indirect careful way
例句：Detectives questioned him for hours, probing for any inconsistencies in his story.
同义词：investigate, inquire, look into, study, examine.
形近词：prone, prose, prove.
△28. heft (v.) to lift, hold or carry something heavy using your hands.
例句：I watched him heft the heavy sack onto his shoulder.
同义词：life, raise, heave, hoist, haul, lug.
反义词：put down
形近词：hefty, haft, heat.
△ 29. narrow (v.) to become less wide or to make something less wide.例句：He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
同根词：narrowly, narrowness
同义词：diminish, decrease, reduce, contract, shrink, constrict.
30. accomplice (n.) a person who helps someone else to commit a crime or to do something morally wrong.
例句：She was betrayed by her accomplice.
同义词：associate, confederate, collaborator.
形近词：accomplished, accomplish.
31. oatmeal (n.) a type of flour made from oats.
32. deceased (adj.) a person who has recently died or people who have recently died.
例句：The deceased shot her mother before killing herself.
同根词：decease
同义词：dead, expired, gone, lamented, perished, slain
形近词：decrease, degrease, deceive, diseased.
33. dignified (adj.) controlled, graceful, serious and calm, and therefore deserving respect.
例句：He has maintained a dignified silence about the rumours.
同根词：dignify, dignifiedly.
同义词：stately, noble, courtly, majestic, distinguished, proud.
反义词：undignified.
Selected Expressions。