be destitute of conscience

沒有良心

des ti tute

adjective

US  /ˈdes.tə.tuːt/

without money, food, a home, or possessions

一無所有的，赤貧的，一貧如洗的 極度缺乏

The floods left thousands of people destitute.

洪水使數千人一貧如洗。

 

con science

noun [ C or U ]

UK  /ˈkɒn.ʃəns/ US  /ˈkɑːn.ʃəns/

 

the part of you that judges how moral your own actions are and makes you feel guilty about bad things that you have done or things you feel responsible for

良心；良知

a guilty conscience

問心有愧

a question/matter of conscience

事關良心

You didn't do anything wrong - you should have a clear conscience (= not feel guilty).

你沒做錯甚麽——你應該覺得問心無愧。

My conscience would really bother me if I wore a fur coat.

要是我穿件皮草大衣，確實會良心不安。

UK He's got no conscience at all (= does not feel guilty) about leaving me to do the housework.

他對於把家務丟給我一點都不覺得內疚。

 更多範例

A sense of guilt was deeply embedded in my conscience.

Let your conscience be your guide.

The charity used photos of starving children in an attempt to jolt the public conscience .

Dan's mentioning Julia pricked my conscience and I gave her a call.

He salves his conscience by giving money to charity.

 

 

 

 

 

with discretionary powers

dis c retio nary

adjective   formal  自主權

 US  /dɪˈskreʃ.ən.er.i/

 

decided by officials and not fixed by rules

（由官員）自行決定的，自主的

a discretionary grant

自主撥款

Judges have great discretionary powers.

法官有很大的自主權。

 

 

Autonomy: 自治；自治權；自主力

Michael’s parents always make decisions for their only child, but they are not aware that they are slowing down the development of Michael’s autonomy.

麥克的父母總是幫唯一的孩子做一切的選擇，但他們不知道他們會減慢麥克的自治權的發展。

 

 

tudies at MIT have found that the senses of mastery and autonomy are inseparable, and with careful observation, one can discern the tangible relationships between the two.

麻省理工學院研究發現掌握和自主的能力是分不開的。仔細觀察時，可以看出兩者之間的實際關係。

 

Mastery is the ability to take charge, and execute with confidence. True mastery is acquired with two simple guidelines: establish the autonomy, or the will to govern actions, and consistent practice.

掌握力是可以有自信的主導與執行，而真正的掌握力是從的兩個簡單的方案中達到：主導自我行為的意志力與持續的練習。

 

May it be desire of art, music, physical achievements, or anything that drives each person, the autonomous self-discovery journey of achieving mastery comes with no monetary award.

不論是藝術，音樂，運動，或何驅動每個人的激勵，自我主導下達到自我掌握的旅程是無酬勞的。

 

Nevertheless, the invisible reward is the irreducibly reality of knowing that, perhaps just yesterday, you would had looked up to the person you are today. And amid a seemingly ordinary world, your internal drive will always motivate you to reach an extraordinary place.

可是的無形回饋是在不可否認的現實中發現，也許就在昨天，你會與今天的你看齊。而在一個看似平凡的世界，內在的動力將驅使你達到不平凡的境界。

 

美國預算支出分為強制性支出(mandatory spending )和自由裁量支出(discretionary spending)

Discretionary Spending  

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/2014/presidents-2015-budget-in-pictures/

 

mandatory spending

https://www.crfb.org/blogs/mandatory-spending-continues-drive-spending-growth

 

 

manda tory

adjective   formal

 US  /ˈmæn.də.tɔːr.i/

 

Something that is mandatory must be done, or is demanded by law.

強制的；必須履行的；法定的

The minister is calling for mandatory prison sentences for people who assault police officers.

部長呼籲把襲警者須受的懲罰定為強制監禁。

Athletes must undergo a mandatory drugs test before competing in the championship.

運動員在參加錦標賽前必須接受強制性藥檢。

In 1991, the British government made it mandatory to wear rear seat belts in cars.

1991年，英國政府強制要求汽車後座乘客佩帶安全帶。

 

 

 

 

 

 

lead a drab existence

drab

adjective   disapproving

 US  /dræb/

drabber | drabbest

 

boring, especially in appearance; having little colour and excitement

（尤指外表）單調的，乏味的，缺乏色彩的，平淡的

She walked through the city centre with its drab, grey buildings and felt depressed.

走過市中心那些單調的灰色建築物，她心裡感覺很壓抑。

I feel so drab in this grey uniform.

穿這套灰色制服我覺得很沒生氣。

 

monotonous

adjective

UK  /məˈnɒt.ən.əs/ US  /məˈnɑː.t̬ən.əs/

 

C1

not changing and therefore boring

單調乏味的；毫無變化的

a monotonous job

單調的工作

a monotonous voice

單調的聲音

The music became monotonous after a while.

過了一會兒音樂變得單調起來。

 

bland

adjective   usually disapproving

UK  /blænd/ US  /blænd/

 

C2

not having a strong taste or character or not showing any interest or energy

無滋味的；枯燥乏味的；沒精打采的，無生氣的

I find chicken a little bland.

我覺得雞肉有點淡。

Pop music these days is so bland.

現今的流行音樂十分乏味。

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

existence

noun

UK  /ɪɡˈzɪs.təns/ US  /ɪɡˈzɪs.təns/

 

B2 [ U ]

the fact of something or someone existing

存在；實有

Many people question the existence of God.

很多人懷疑上帝是否真的存在。

Modern cosmology believes the universe to have come into existence about 15 billion years ago.

現代宇宙論認為，宇宙大約在150億年前就已經形成了。

The theatre company that they started is still in existence today.

他們創辦的劇團直到今日仍在演出。

 

 [ C usually singular ]

a particular way of life

生活；生活方式

She has a miserable existence living with him.

和他生活在一起，她的日子苦不堪言。

 更多範例

What a miserable existence! How could anyone live in such dreadful conditions.

The government won't even acknowledge the existence of the problem.

Television has become part of our everyday existence.

The new world order was expected to come into existence after the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War.

These academics lead such a cloistered existence.

 

https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/boring

 

 

重要

Dreary and mind-numbing: interesting ways of saying ‘boring’

On September 25, 2019 By Kate WoodfordIn the English language

 

John Slater / DigitalVision / Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

 

We recently looked at different ways of saying ‘interesting’. Sadly, not everything in life is fascinating, absorbing or gripping. Now and then, something that we watch, read or in some other way experience is, well… boring. However, if you read this post, you’ll at least be able to use interesting words and phrases to say that things are boring!

 

An alternative to ‘boring’ is the word dull:

 

I found the talk a bit dull, to be honest.

 

If you want to emphasize that something is very dull, you can use the phrase (as) dull as dishwater/ditchwater:

 

The leaders’ debate itself was as dull as dishwater.

 

Another useful alternative to ‘boring’ is the adjective tedious:

 

I very rarely iron clothes – I find it so tedious.

 

Moving on now to adjectives with a slight additional meaning, if something is boring and it makes you feel sad or hopeless, you might describe it as dreary:

 

It was another dreary day in the office.

 

I’m so bored of these dreary, grey skies.

 

Something that is boring because it involves the same thing again and again may be described as repetitive or monotonous:

 

a repetitive task

 

The work is very monotonous.

 

(‘Monotonous’ also describes voices and sounds that are boring because they stay the same, never going higher or lower).

 

Meanwhile, a job or activity that is extremely boring is sometimes described very emphatically as mind-numbing:

 

the mind-numbing task of data entry

 

A word that emphasizes that something is boring because there is nothing new or different about it is humdrum:

 

She longed to escape her humdrum existence.

 

Something that is rather boring because it’s the same as so many others of the same type is sometimes described as run-of-the-mill:

 

It’s a fairly run-of-the-mill romantic comedy.

 

They just have run-of-the-mill bar food.

 

Two adjectives that describe boring food are bland and insipid. Bland or insipid food has very little taste:

 

The sauce needs a bit of spice – it’s a bit bland.

 

an insipid, milky drink

 

These adjectives are also applied more generally to things that have no special qualities or features and are therefore boring:

 

The rooms are very beige and bland/insipid.

 

Something that is boring because it lacks colour is sometimes described as drab:

 

We wore a drab, grey uniform.

 

A boring song, show, story, etc. that is soon forgotten because it isn’t special in any way is sometimes described as forgettable:

 

The lyrics are cliched, the melody forgettable.

 

Finally, a frequently used idiom in this area is watch paint dry. If watching something is very boring, people sometimes say humorously, it’s like watching paint dry or they would rather watch paint dry:

 

The last time I went to the theatre, it was like watching paint dry.

 

I’d rather watch paint dry than sit through another episode. 

 

I hope that nothing in your week is dreary or monotonous!

 

 

https://7esl.com/say-its-interesting-and-its-boring/

 

 

 

Absorbing and thought-provoking: words meaning ‘interesting’

On August 14, 2019 By Kate WoodfordIn the English language, Vocabulary

 

Laura Kate Bradley / Moment / Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

 

On this blog, we often look at the various English words and phrases that we use to express the same concept. This week we’re focusing on the word ‘interesting’. There are lots of synonyms (or rather, ‘near-synonyms’) for this adjective but most carry an extra meaning. In this post, I’ll try to show the differences in meaning between these near-synonyms and provide you with a range of ‘interesting’ vocabulary!

 

 

If you find something extremely interesting, you can use the adjective fascinating:

 

I read a fascinating book on the subject.

 

It’s a fascinating subject.

 

If something interests you, partly because you cannot fully understand it and want to know more, you might describe it as intriguing:

 

The novel’s opening chapter is very intriguing.

 

A book, film or activity that is so interesting, it completely holds your attention, might be described as absorbing:

 

I found his last novel very absorbing.

 

Even stronger than ‘absorbing’, but with the same meaning is the adjective engrossing:

 

It’s a really engrossing story.

 

Something that holds all your attention because it is both interesting and exciting might be described as compelling:

 

I found the whole film compelling from start to finish.

 

Other adjectives with a similar meaning are riveting and gripping:

 

The first act of the play was completely riveting.

 

It’s a really gripping read.

 

Meanwhile, if a talk, book, film, etc. is interesting because it makes you think a lot about a subject, you can say that it is thought-provoking:

 

It was a very thought-provoking talk.

 

A job or discussion that is stimulating makes you keep feeling interested, often by providing you with new ideas:

 

He finds his new job much more stimulating.

 

We had a very stimulating discussion.

 

Sometimes, things are interesting in a rather unusual way. For this combination of qualities, we have the adjective curious:

 

There were some very curious-looking frogs in there.

 

Conversation or company that is interesting and enjoyable is sometimes described as sparkling, especially if it is clever and funny:

 

Georgie was in sparkling form.

 

The conversation was positively sparkling.

 

Gossip (= news about other people’s private lives) that is interesting because it is rather shocking may be described informally as juicy:

 

I’ve got some juicy gossip for you!

 

There is also a group of ‘interesting’ adjectives that mean ‘interesting enough to be spoken of’, for example notable:

 

Was anything notable said in the meeting?

 

A more formal way of saying this is worthy of attention/notice/note:

 

We saw a couple of fairly entertaining short films but nothing worthy of note.

 

An event that is interesting enough to be described in a news report may be described as newsworthy:

 

Nothing newsworthy ever happened in her parents’ town.

 

If you find something engrossing, thought-provoking or stimulating this week, perhaps you’d like to tell us?

 

 

 

https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2019/08/14/absorbing-and-thought-provoking-words-meaning-interesting/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder 小別勝新婚

 

ethereal beauty

 

 

a flamboyant lifestyle

 

 

a fluorescent light

 

 

a grandiose plan

 

idiosyncratic behavior

 

 

impeccable appearance

 

 

 

impoverished population

 

 

indelible  impression

 

 

palatable wine

 

 

 

 

a palpable difference

 

 

 

 

 

 

a posh resort

 

 

 

 

 

pseudo love

 

 

 

 

 

resonant bass

 

 

abiding friendship

 

 

 

demographic data

 

 

lead a leisurely life

 

 

be adamant about

 

 

 

 

an audacious plan

 

 

 

 

a brash young man

 

 

 

a curt reply

 

 

 

disgruntled employees

 

 

 

a fickle person

 

 

forthright views

 

 

fraternal love

 

 

 

a glib politician

 

 

a gregarious personality

 

 

an implacable enemy

 

 

be inept at 

 

 

 

insatiable hunger for

 

 

an intrepid adventurer

 

 

 

 

introspective nature

 

 

be obsessive about

 

 

a touchy issue

 

 

remain upbeat about the future

 

 

make a concerted effort to

 

 

a contentious issue

 

 

cumbersome procedure

 

 

 

by fraudulent means

 

 

 

become insolvent

 

 

a proprietary name

 

 

 

take punitive action against

 

 

 

 

reactionary forces

 

 

 

sexist remarks

 

 

 

stringent measures

 

 

prodigious talent

 

 

 

a seminal book

 

 

in a sizable proportion

 

 

stellar production

 

be susceptible to 

 

 

bring sweeping change

 

tenuous argurment

 

 

veritable heaven

 

be overly careful

 

 

 

be amply demonstrated in