Vocabulary, Fall 2009: English Communication for Graduate Students
Instructor: Mr.
Michael Krigline, MA
Kunming Medical University
www.krigline.com.cn
Click "refresh"
in your browser to be sure that you load the most recent version of this
page; I may change things before quiz/exam time.
bold
(and/or blue) shows one-word
synonyms (be sure you know how to spell both words); an asterisk (*)
indicates key words (these may change after the first quiz, so check back
before the second quiz and before exam time). The Chinese characters were
added by my students; if you think a different translation is better, send
me a note (see the
home page for our address) and I'll ask Chinese friends which is
better. I’d also like someone to supply missing translations.
^ = you have seen this vocabulary term
before; be sure you understand it!
An
English Name can be Super (some of these
will also be on the final exam)
pragmatic: practical
（实用的）
to swell:
grow quickly (like a wave)
（膨胀）
*rite of
passage: important event as sb grows up
（仪式）
urban:
in a city
（城市的）
to
enroll:sign up to enter (a college, etc)
（注册）
routinely: normally
（通常）
*to snap up:
quickly select or take
（急促抓取）
to
circulate: to send around (a class, etc)
（分发、传阅）
*connotation: the feeling or idea suggested by a word
（内容）
Mandarin:
the majority “Han” Chinese language
（普通话）
sage: sb who
is very wise, esp. with traditional wisdom
（智者）
astrological: related to the stars and their influence on people
（占星术的）
*to adopt:
to formally accept sth in a permanent way (eg adopting a child)
（收养）
phonetic:
related to the sounds of speech
（语音的）
pitfalls:
hazards,
serious problems (like a pit you can fall into!)
（陷阱）
quirky:
unusual
(and often humorous or interesting)
（古怪的）
(Chinese)
character: a single Chinese pictograph
（汉字）
How to
increase your metabolism
(next
year, add esp and etc)
*metabolism:
the chemical processes by which your body changes food into energy
（新陈代谢）
to rev
up: to increase
(esp. to make an engine run faster, i.e., with more revolutions per
minute)
（增加）
rumors:
things people say based on what someone else said, not necessarily based
on the truth
（谣言）
genetic:
related to the part of a cell that controls its characteristics or
development（遗传性）
to boost: to
increase or lift sth up
（提高）
*muscle:
part of your body that connects your bones, allows you to move and gives
you strength
（肌肉）
calories: a
unit of measurement for the energy available in food
（卡路里，热量值）
*groceries:
the food you just bought at a store, esp. bags of such food
（杂货）
to
conserve: to save
（保存）
myths:
things that are widely believed (often from ancient times) but not proven
to be true
（神话）
carbohydrates: a substance that gives your body heat and energy, found in
foods such as rice and bread
（碳水化合物）
protein: a
substance in food needed to make you grow and remain healthy, found in
foods such as meat and beans
（蛋白质）
Obesity
threatens Chinese people
*obese,
obesity: to be so fat that it puts health in danger
（肥胖）
nutrition:
the content of food from a health point of view (good nutrition means
eating the right mix of food to get plenty of vitamins, minerals, fiber,
and everything else needed for good health)
（营养）
disease:
illness
（疾病）
diabetes:
too much sugar in the blood
（糖尿病）
kilogram: a
metric unit of weight
（公斤）
life
expectancy: the length of time sb is expected to live (often expressed as
an average for some group of people, people with a certain disease, etc.)
（寿命）
*patient: a
sick person, under the care of a doctor
（病人）
physician: doctor
(formal term; be sure you can spell both terms!)
（内科医生）
proportion:
part of sth, in relation to the whole or to sth else（比例）
respectively: in the same order as what you just mentioned (For boys, 14
percent are obese and 13 percent are overweight, with the proportions for
girls nine and 11 percent, respectively. That is 9% obese and 11%
overweight)
（各自地）
*to indulge:
to let yourself have sth you enjoy but (usually) that is bad for you if
you get too much
（沉溺于）
to be
vulnerable to: to be able to be easily harmed or damaged
（易受伤害的）
incidence
of: occurrence of; number of times sth happens (esp sth bad like disease
or crime)
（发生率）
onset: start
(esp of sth bad like a disease, winter, “old age,” etc.)
（开始）
[medical]
complications: [countable, plural] unforeseen negative results; additional
illnesses while a patient is already sick
（并发症）
poverty:
being poor
（贫穷）
twin: two
similar things, children, etc.
（孪生的）
*epidemic: a
large number of cases of an illness, occurring at the same time
（流行病）
*the ___
community: all of the people associated with a certain job (the medical
community, the academic community, the business community)
（团体）
House, MD
(pilot)
*to babble
like a baby: to “talk” without making sense (“After taking the medicine,
she babbled like a baby for a minute before falling asleep.”)
change--“Do
you have change for a dollar?” This means “please give me coins instead of
this dollar, so I can buy something from a machine that doesn’t take paper
money.”
*“He’s a
delinquent.” This means that, as a youth, he broke the law or did socially
unacceptable things.
“Good call.”
This means “You made the right decision.”
intermittent
problem: something that is sometimes wrong or bad, but sometimes fine
(“This muscle has an intermittent problem; three times last week it hurt
but most of the time it is OK.”)
*to screw
up: to make a mistake (see dialog 3)
to trigger a
response: the trigger is the “button” you push to make a gun fire, so this
is talking about the situation or cause of a response or reaction
to trust sb
implicitly: to believe sb completely without doubt (“If I were her student
I would trust her implicitly.”)
^allergy/allergic reaction: a condition that makes you ill (or gives you
skin problems, etc) because of contact with something your body can’t
handle (e.g., an insect bite, oil from some plants, chemicals in the air);
when you get sick because of an allergy it is called an “allergic
reaction.”
（过敏反应）
aneurysm:
when a blood vessel (or artery) is filled with too much blood (esp. due to
disease)
biopsy: the
removal of cells from a body so that they can be examined for disease
*CT/CT scan
( or CAT scan): a device (also process or result) that gives a sectional
(3-D) picture of the inside of someone’s body (I believe the letters come
from “Computed Tomography”)
（CT扫描）
coroner: an
official whose job is to determine why sb died, using medical tests
*diagnosis/diagnostic/diagnostician: the process and tests used to find
out what an illness is (diagnostic is an adj; a diagnostician
is a doctor with this specialty)
（诊断）
*fatigue:
extreme tiredness; a fatigued person is tired a lot
（十分疲劳）
^genetic:
related to the part of a cell that controls its characteristics or
development
（遗传性）
HMO: Health
Maintenance Organization--an medical organization that provides health
care to members under a group insurance plan (often without giving
patients many choices)
*hygiene:
common practices (such as washing one’s hands and throwing out trash) that
make you and your environment clean, esp. to prevent illness
（卫生）
*the immune
system: immune system: [c] the parts of your body that work together to
protect you from disease
（免疫系统）
*to inject
(into a vein): to put (medicine) into the blood through a needle
（注射）
lesion:
damage to skin, brain, etc., caused by injury or sickness
MRI:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging--a process that creates a picture of the inside
of your body, using strong magnetic fields
（磁共振）
^nerve: the
“wires” inside your body that carry information to and from the brain
（神经）
neurocysticercosis: infection of the central nervous system due to
tapeworms
neurologist:
a doctor whose specialty is the body’s nervous system (network of nerves)
oncology/oncologist: the study of tumors/a specialist in this field
（肿瘤/肿瘤学家）
*oxygen: an
important element in our air
（氧气）
parasite: a
plant or animal (e.g., a worm) that can’t live except by being part of
another plant or animal
（寄生虫）
*sanitary: (adj)
describing something that is especially clean or free from infection,
bacteria or other unhealthy things; also called “hygienic”
（卫生的）
seizure: a
short, sudden loss of control of one’s body (often due to illness or a
negative reaction to drugs)
（癫痫发作）
steroid: a
chemical (or drug) that can fight illness or build muscles
*tumor: a
useless mass of cells in your body that have multiplied too quickly (some
are dangerous and some are not)
（肿瘤）
vasculitis:
inflammation of a blood vessel (in this story, it is in the brain)
*to
ventilate: to pump oxygen into a patient’s lungs
（机械通气）
stroke: a
serious medical condition when an artery in the brain bursts or becomes
blocked
ischemic
syndrome or condition: related to a lack of blood (e.g., to the brain or
heart) because something is partially blocking the arteries
vascular:
related to the tubing system that carries body fluids (esp. blood)
Pain
(Bumrungrad
International Hospital [Bangkok] Information Sheet)
*surgery:
medical treatment that involves cutting open someone’s body
（外科）
arthritis: a
painful disease in the joints between bones
（关节炎）
*nerves: the
“wires” inside your body that carry information to and from the brain
（神经）
spinal cord:
the major “cable” of nerves that runs inside your back bone
（脊髓）
*adolescents: young people, between “child” and “adults” (age 12-18)
（青少年）
admitted (to
a hospital): to be officially taken into a hospital for treatment or other
care
（收住入院
）
*pneumonia:
a serious lung illness that makes it hard to breathe (fei yan); “pneuma”
is Greek for air, wind or spirit
（肺炎）
blood clot:
a solid mass of dry blood (particularly dangerous if it goes to the heart
or brain)
（血栓）
medications:
medicine or drugs used to treat illnesses
（医药）
tablet: a
pill; an easy-to-swallow form of medicine
（药片）
capsule: a
plastic container with medicine that can be swallowed
（胶囊）
injection:
shot; a way to put medicine into a body through a needle
（注射）
intravenously: into one’s veins (esp. in terms of giving sb medicine)
（
静脉注射地）
*addicted:
unable to stop taking or doing something (a drug, habit, etc)
（成瘾）
prescribe:
when a doctor or other authority states what needs to be done (e.g., what
medicine to give, what action to take)
（开处方）
*allergy/allergic reaction: a condition that makes you ill (or gives you
skin problems, etc) because of contact with something your body can’t
handle (e.g., an insect bite, oil from some plants, chemicals in the air);
when you get sick because of an allergy it is called an “allergic
reaction.” （过敏反应）
*to depict:
to describe sth in a different (often artistic) way
（描述）
constipation: a medical term for difficulty getting rid of your body’s
solid waste
（便秘）
drowsiness: sleepiness
（睡意）
narcotic: a
type of drug that reduces pain or makes you sleep
（麻醉剂）
*alcohol: a
drink that can make you drunk if you drink too much (beer, wine, vodka,
rice wine, etc)
（
酒精，乙醇，酒精饮料）
Successful Writing
(1) The
Basics
1. real
world (the real world): [c] life after college; everyday life in business,
education, research, etc., when your work is evaluated by others or
affects others (and not just a teacher); real-world (with a hyphen)
can also be used as an adjective {preface}
2. review（评论，复习）:
[c] an informed opinion, written to influence the reader’s choice or
appreciation of something; (AmE [vti]) to look again at something you have
studied (British equivalent: revise) {1}
3. *topic
sentence（主题句）:
[c] an interesting sentence that gets the reader’s attention and
introduces the topic of a paragraph {1}
4.
*implication（含义，意在言外，暗指，暗示）:
[c] something you believe to be demonstrated by a particular situation or
set of facts: e.g., if your essay states that campus trees act like
soldiers (defending, protecting, giving…), then (by implication) we should
respect the trees like we respect soldiers, or (by implication) students
should feel safer because of the trees. {1}
5. *vague（模糊不清的）:
(adj) unclear because of a lack of details or because a specific
description is not available {1}
6.
*colloquial（口语的）:
(adj) language or words that are informal, and that are usually only used
in spoken communication (口语)
{1}
7. title（标题）:
[c] a short name that identifies a book, article, essay, movie, etc.; a
word that (usually) comes before someone’s family name to show position,
profession or respect (e.g., Dr., Mrs., Prof.) {1}
8. *lean（瘦的）:
(adj) without fat or waste; thin—usually in a healthy sense {1}
9.
double-space（两倍的距离，两倍行距）:
[vti] to type or write on every other line, allowing room above your text
for hand-written corrections {1}
10a. hand in
(or turn in)
（交给）:
[vt] to give an assignment to a teacher (or sometimes a boss, official,
etc.) {1}
10b. turn in
(see hand in)
11.
wordy/wordiness（多言的，用词过多的，冗长的，啰嗦的）:
using more words than necessary when a more concise term, phrase or
grammatical structure is possible {1}
12.
Chinglish（中国式英语）:
an informal term (it’s not an official word) that refers to an incorrect
mixture of the Chinese and English languages; producing Chinglish
expressions is a natural part of the process of learning English
13. due date（预期）:
[c] the time or date on which something is expected (especially rent
payments, homework assignments, or the birth of a baby); “What are their
due dates?” is the same as “When are they due?” {1}
(2)
Plagiarism and Paraphrasing
1.
*plagiarism (to plagiarize)
（剽窃物）:
[u] presenting someone else’s artistic or literary work as if it were
one’s own {2}
2.
*intellectual property (IP)
（知识财产，知识产权）:
[u&c] creative works that can be protected by copyright or other legal
means, and which can often be easily copied illegally (such as software
discs, published material, essays written by other students, or
music/movie discs) {2}
3.
*tarnished（晦暗，生锈）:
[n, adj, vti] metal (like silver) that has lost its color and brightness
(or the process of becoming like this); a reputation/record/etc., that has
become worse in the eyes of others (the opposite of a shining
reputation) {2}
4.
documentation（文件，文档）:
[u] the practice of adding notes to a piece of writing in order to reveal
the source of your information (the verb form [vt] would be to document;
also see footnote) {2}
5.
*quotation (direct quotation/quote)
（引语）:
[c] writing that tells what someone says in that person’s own words;
quotations are placed inside quotation marks (“ ”), also called
inverted commas
in British
English {2}
6. document
(see documentation)
7. *to
paraphrase（释义，解释）:
[vt] to express in a shorter or clearer way what someone has said or
written {2}
8a. footnote（脚注）:
[c] a note at the bottom of a page of writing that offers an explanation
or reference information (an endnote is a similar note placed at
the end of a chapter instead) {2}
8b. endnote
(see footnote)
9. *idiom（成语，惯用语）:
[c] a fixed group of words with a different meaning from the meanings of
its words {2}
10.
*optional（任选的，非强制的）:
(adj) indicating a choice; not required, but acceptable or possible {this
word is used many times during my class}
Education
in the USA
elementary
school: the first years of a child’s formal education, traditionally
including kindergarten through eighth grade (though some elementary school
end with sixth grade), also called grade school, grammar school,
or primary school
middle
school: in some places, this school educates children in grades seven and
eight (and sometimes nine); sometimes also called a junior high school
secondary
school: traditionally grades nine through twelve, helping children prepare
for college or for a vocation (though some secondary schools are only
grades 10-12); most people call this high school
*tuition (BrE:
tuition fees): money paid for academic instruction
suburb: the
area around the outside of a city (many suburbs are really small cities)
where people live, often driving to work in a nearby city
sparse:
spread out; not concentrated or dense (“Compared to the cities, the
countryside is sparsely populated.”)
*curriculum:
all of the subjects taught at an educational institution (considered as a
group), or the list/catalog of elements (classes) for a particular
subject. The plural form is either curricula or curriculums.
to be home
schooled (to home school): to be educated at home, normally by your
parents or a tutor (this practice in general is called home schooling)
*liberal
arts: academic subjects such as languages, literature, history,
philosophy, mathematics, and the sciences
professional
schools: academic institutions that prepare advanced students for certain
professions, in particular law, business, and medicine)
*community
college: an institution offering adult education courses on various
subjects, including basic academic classes (similar to first-year
university courses), vocational training (nursing, computer tech, engine
repair), and hobby-related courses (photography, gardening); also called a
technical/vocational school or a junior college. Community
colleges can confer an Associate’s Degree, normally after two years
of prescribed study.
*room and
board: a place to live/sleep and all of your meals; the money you spend
(esp. while at college) for your dorm/apartment and food
work-study
programs: classes in a particular field (such as engineering), along with
paid employment (normally either part-time, during holidays, or every
other semester)
*scholarship: when someone pays some of the college expenses for gifted
students or athletes (a “full ride” or “full scholarship” means that
someone pays ALL of your expenses, including tuition, housing,
transportation and food) (奖学金)
assistantship: a paid position that provides reduced tuition or a salary
in exchange for teaching or research duties (normally for graduate
students—called postgraduates in BrE)
*diploma: an
official certificate showing that you successfully completed an academic
degree (conferred by a high school, college, graduate school, or
professional organization)
*to confer
(a degree): to officially give a title, degree, or award in recognition of
your achievement
*to
prescribe: to require, or to establish regulations; to professionally
recommend that a patient buy/use a specific medicine
The
following vocabulary is from after Quiz 1 (2009)
Film:
Lost Worlds
*abandoned: to leave a place without intending to return (often because of
safety)
*bellwether: something that indicates future development or trends, like
the “lead sheep” (with a bell around its neck) shows the way that all of
the sheep that follow it will go
diversity: variety, especially interconnected variety
(“Biological diversity is the variety of interconnecting life that
keeps things healthy.”)
carnivorous plants: plants that “eat meat” (i.e., that live by killing
animals, instead of by gaining nutrition from the soil)
deforestation: to clear forests; i.e., to cut down too many trees
*dense: tightly packed or close together; concentrated; not sparse
(“Compared to the countryside, the city is densely populated.”)
dusk: the period after day but before night
ecosystem: interdependent creatures and the environment they inhabit and
depend on
faucet: the thing that water comes from in your bathroom (also called a
tap)
habitat: the natural conditions and environment in which a plant or animal
lives
inhabitants: those who live in a certain place.
jaguar: a large cat (like a leopard), mainly found in the forests of the
Americas
kelp: a type of large seaweed, that supports a wide range of living things
*metropolis: big city. “Beijing is a densely populated metropolis”
*nursery: pre-kindergarten school; a place that helps small
children/plants/animals to grow and develop properly (“Kelp is a
nursery for spawning fish.”)
okay: OK, all right
*to
pollute: to make the environment dirty by dumping waste or smoke into
rivers, lakes, or the air
*shallow: not deep, often referring to water or thinking
*resourceful: able to use whatever is available, often in un-normal ways,
to achieve a goal (“The soil is very poor, so plants and animals must be
resourceful to get the nutrition they need.”)
restoration: the process of restoring something or “bringing sth back”
that was damaged
to
reweave: to weave again; to reconnect complex things, like the way someone
makes cloth or clothes by hand
species: a biology term for organisms that are very similar and that can
be bred (put together) to produce plant/animal “children” (“Many
species are being driven to extinction.”)
watershed (of a river): the land area that drains into a particular lake,
river or ocean
Phrases and proper nouns
to
be “master” of sth: to be the boss; to be in charge of things
to
tip the balance of life: to do sth that gives one form of life an unfair
or unnatural advantage
the
Table Mountains (Roraima): the unique mtns shown in this film; the indian
name is “tepuis”
Venezuela: a country in northern South America where you’ll find the Table
Mountains;
委内瑞拉
Garbage
and Pollution: the terrible cost of development
garbage: trash, rubbish
（垃圾）
*to generate
(generated): to produce or create (often a large amount of sth that is not
countable, such as trash or electricity)
（生产）
*rural: not
in a city; not urban
（农村的）
*landfill:
the garbage dump; the place where a city puts the trash it collects
（垃圾堆）
toxic: poisonous
（有毒的）
pathogenic: disease-causing
（致病的）
*organic:
natural; produced by living things, as opposed to things that are man-made
(man-made or inorganic things include chemicals that make plants grow or
kill bugs)
（有机的）
*to
contaminate: to do sth that yields a harmful effect, such as making a
river dirty through pollution
（污染）
combustion:
burning, esp to produce heat or an explosion
（燃烧）
*premature:
before the normal time
（早熟的）
to consume /
consumption: to use time, energy, goods, etc / the amount of energy, oil,
etc., used
（消耗）
microscopic:
extremely small, such as things you can't see without a microscope
（显微镜）
*lungs: the
organs you use to breathe
（肺脏）
*respiratory: related to the lungs or breathing
（呼吸的）
scarcity:
not having enough; rareness
（缺乏）
*chronic: a
problem or illness that lasts a long time, and can't be easily cured
（慢性的）
to render
(has rendered): to cause or express something in a particular way (render
emphasizes the resulting condition)
（表现）
to shrink
(has shrunk): to make smaller, often in a negative way
（收缩、缩水）
microorganism: an extremely small living thing; a microscopic organism
（微生物）
*domestic:
within one's own country (domestic problems), family (domestic violence)
or home (domestic appliances)
（国内的，家庭的）
blunt:
spoken in an honest way, even if it hurts or offends others (blunt is also
the opposite of sharp)
（直爽的、率坦的）
*to recycle
(recycling): to put used objects or materials through a process so that
they can be used again
（循环利用）
Growing
Up vs. Growing Old
*beaming/to
beam: to smile happily
*frustrated:
you feel this way when annoyed because you cannot change a situation,
understand something you are supposed to do, lack control, etc. (students
have given these translations:
憋屈,
惘然,
失意的,
气馁,
灰心,
沮丧,
失望)
*funeral: a
ceremony in honor of sb who recently died
*icon: [c] a
symbol of sth, esp one that is well-known (e.g., the Nike "swoosh,"
"Michael Jordan" as a great basketball player, "Wal-Mart" as a big
discount store)
mesmerized:
be very fascinated by sth; to be so interested in sth/sb that it is hard
to pull away
milkshake: (AmE)
a thick, cold, sweet drink, made from milk, ice cream and fruit or
chocolate (in BrE, it might not have ice cream) (奶昔)
*podium: a
raised area where speakers stand to teach or preach
*regrets:
feelings of sadness because of sth that you wish had happened differently;
to "have no regrets" you must live in a state of forgiveness
*to revel in
sth: to enjoy sth very much
*in tribute
to sb: to express admiration, praise, or respect to sb
wrinkle:
lines or folds that show age (in a face, clothes, etc)
How to
Stay Young
essential: necessary（必要的）
to grieve:
to feel very sad, esp because a loved one has died（悲痛）
a guilt
trip: to feel guilt (shame/sadness because you did sth wrong) about
something, esp. when that feeling is unreasonable or unnecessary ("My
mom's letters always put me on a guilt trip for not becoming a
politician like she always wanted me to be.")
（内疚）
*idle: not
working, or at least not working to produce anything (like a car that is
waiting at a traffic light)
（懒惰的）
*keepsakes:
small objects you keep to remind you of someone or someplace（纪念品）
refuge: a
place of protection (from rain, snow, thieves, foreign soldiers, etc.)
（避难所）
to take
one's breath away: to be very beautiful, exciting or surprising（惊呆了）
Film:
Patch Adams
*to adjourn:
(formal) to end a meeting, class, etc.
*amputation:
a medical operation to cut off someone's arm, leg, etc.
antics:
strange, often humorous, behavior
catatonic:
[medical] not able to move or talk because of an illness
*to conform:
to act like others, esp. because “everyone” in your group or society acts
this way
*cut the
crap: (informal) stop telling lies
have a
crush on sb: to feel like you are in love (especially as teenagers)
and not sure that you want the other person to know (Patch says to Carin:
"I have a crush on you. Ha! I can't believe I just blurted that out.")
*to be
dismissed: to be given permission to leave a meeting, or to be forced to
leave a university, club, job, etc.
fantasy: in
this film, "what's your fantasy" means "what is something you wish you
could do before you die from this disease" (One patient dreams of "one
last safari" and another dreams of swimming in a pool of noodles!)
to flunk
out: to fail, and therefore be dismissed from a school
*genius: a
person with exceptional talent or abilities (or things such a person
creates)
*give me a
break: (informal) can either mean “stop this annoying behavior” or “stop
being so strict with your expectations” (in dialog 7, it is the former; we
can tell by Mitch’s tone of voice)
*the Golden
Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or "treat other
people the way you want others to treat you"; this is a quote from Jesus
in the Bible, and for the first 200+ years of American history, every
school child memorized this "Golden Rule"
gynecologist
(BrE: gynaecologist): a doctor specializing in women's medical conditions
and who delivers babies (a big joke about this almost gets Patch
dismissed from med school)
*infirmity:
illness
meat
packers: people who process meat to sell in grocery stores (Patch attends
a "meat packers convention"; that meeting is full of puns, such as
"Nice to meat you.")
*nickname: a
short name or alternate name for someone (e.g., Patch for Hunter) (绰号;
雅号?)
to patch:
to fix
(especially sth with a hole or tear)
a prick: a
very offensive term for a stupid, unpleasant male who "isn't fun to be
around"
*pun (to
make a pun): [c] words that sound alike, in such a way that the result has
two meanings and is often amusing; example: “Seven days without food makes
one weak/week.” (“one” could mean “someone” or the number; orally, “weak”
could mean “lacking strength” or “seven days”)
*to repel:
opposite of attract; to forcefully push sb/sth away
self-committed mental patient: a person who decides that he needs
emotional help, and checks into a mental hospital; self-committed patients
can also check out whenever they wish, but those committed (put into the
hospital) by a doctor, judge, etc., cannot just leave whenever they want
to.
*to steer
clear: to avoid sb/sth unpleasant ("You can stay at my university, but you
WILL steer clear of Dean Walcott.")
transference: [technical] to unconsciously develop personal emotions for
patients, which might prevent/hinder you from making difficult decisions
regarding their treatment (In order to avoid transference, doctors
say "that cancer patient" instead of using the patient's name.)
part 2
adamant [adj]:
with strong opinions (坚强不屈的)
*backbone:
the rows of bones down the middle of your back; something important that
gives an organization strength and structure ("This is the backbone of our
institution.")
bedpan: a
pan used as a toilet by bed-ridden (confined to bed) patients
*contagious:
easily passed from one person to another (e.g., illnesses like a cold or
flu)
*decency:
moral manners; in line with commonly accepted moral, polite and respectful
standards (风化?)
to disband:
to stop existing as a club, school, organization, etc.
motif:
theme, esp of decorations ("We should decorate with a western motif.")
mockery, to
make a mockery of…: to cause sth important to be regarded as a joke or as
useless ("You've made a mockery of our distinguished guests.")
*murdered:
intentionally killed ("She was murdered. There was a shotgun involved.
Then the murderer turned the gun on himself.")
pediatrics (BrE
paediatrics): the field of medicine dealing with children
*protocol:
the official set of rules and practices ("Don't get me fired. Just observe
rounds and stay within hospital protocol.")
*stature:
literally "height" but figuratively one's level of respect ("Treat them
according to their stature as doctors.")
thorn: a
sharp barb (point) on some plants, like rose stems; someone who
annoys you like such a barb
Doctor/patient conflicts become more common
to assault: to attack
（袭击）
to detain: to make someone wait (when passive [被动的],
it often means “to wait in jail” for a decision by the police or judge)
（使延迟，耽搁，扣留）
*statistics: numerical information, usually related to the number of times
sth is done
（统计）
to stab: to push a knife into sth or sb
（刺伤）
*to deteriorate: to become worse; to fall apart
（恶化）
^*to trigger: to cause a (usually negative) response or reaction
expenditure: expense; the total amount spent during a particular period of
time
agitation: argument, anger, anxiety or frustration because of a needed
change
*netizens: people who use the Internet, esp. those who actively
participate in chats/blogs/etc.
*to implement: to take action on a plan/policy/recommendation/etc. after
making an official decision
Stress is
a Laughing Matter
*“is no laughing matter”: [idiom] is serious. “Pollution is no laughing
matter.” (i.e., it’s a serious problem)
*to
follow suit: to do the same thing, esp in a card game when you have to
play the same “suit” (heart, diamond, spade or club) as others
*spontaneous: instant and automatic
*bouts: incidences or episodes of a problem
exhaustion: extreme tiredness
*camaraderie: feelings of close friendship, esp on a team
uninhibited: not restricted
The
Foundation for Lifelong Love
it is
murder: it is extremely difficult (colloquial/口语)
（谋杀）
*passion
(passionately): a very strong belief or feeling, especially a deep feeling
of sexual love
（激情）
intolerable:
so bad that it is beyond your ability to accept or deal with
（无法忍受的）
to alter: to
change or adjust, esp. little by little
（改变）
*courtship:
the time that a man & woman get to know each other before marriage
（恋爱期）
to plague sb:
to deeply annoy sb, esp for a long time
（使苦恼）
honeymoon: a
short vacation couples often take right after they are married
（蜜月）
red flags: (AmE)
something that alerts you about a problem or danger (a red flag is also a
symbol of communism, but Americans often use it idiomatically to mean a
warning sign)
（红旗：警告）
flaws: imperfections,
such as in pottery (陶器)
or art
（瑕疵）
*spouse:
husband or wife
（夫妇）
^quirky: unusual
(and often humorous or interesting)
（古怪的）
impulsive:
done without much thought (esp. of the problems one's actions might
create)
（冲动的）
newlyweds:
people who have recently been married (usually less than a year)
（新婚）
core values:
your central or deepest ideas about what is right and wrong, or what is
important in life
（核心价值观）
non-negotiable: sth you are not willing to change or discuss, such as a
final price offer or a core value
（不可协商的。没有商量余地的）
*move in: to
change your address, esp. when entering someone else's home (搬家)
("After I lost my job, I had to move in with my parents.")
（搬进）
*data:
information or facts
（数据）
ultimate:
most important (because it is the biggest, final, highest, most difficult,
etc.)
（终极的，最为重要的）
*to resolve:
to make a firm, unchangeable decision after much thought ("Tom resolved to
stop smoking.")
（下决心)
Film:
House, MD (maternity)
A few phrases:
*to
break (bad news, the sad truth…): to tell (sth unpleasant) to sb
exhibit A…exhibit B…: examples used to prove sth, esp. in a courtroom
*to
get our hands on sth: to obtain sth that was not easy to obtain
Hail Mary pass: a football term, describing when you pass the ball a long
way down the field with only seconds left in the game—you probably won't
score, but if you do it will win the game. ("This is a Hail Mary pass. It
might cure your daughter. It might not.")
*managed to (do sth): an informal way to say that you did something that
was not easy to do (“It is a rare medicine, but I've managed to find
some.")
*a
needle in a haystack: sth that is almost impossible to find ("Finding out
which virus she has is like looking for a needle in a haystack. But if we
don't search the haystack she will die.")
[No Audible Dialogue]: a subtitle that means you can't hear what the
actors are saying
*to
rattle off (facts/numbers…): to list information quickly or without much
thought (as if from memory)
A few terms:
*autopsy: to
examine a dead body in order to find the cause of death（尸检）
*to bug sb:
to irritate sb (like a swarm of bugs)
*cluster: a
group of related things that are close together; similar things that exist
in a dependent relationship (grapes grow in clusters)
（群，簇）
*coincidence: when unrelated things happen by chance in a way that makes
them seem related（巧合）
[medical]
cultures: bacteria (or other biological material) grown for scientific use
or examination
*epidemic: a
large number of cases of an illness, occurring at the same time（流行病）
fever: the
medical condition of having a high temperature (98.6°F and 37°C are
normal)
to hunt/to
go hunting: to look carefully for sth, esp. an animal
*ICU:
Intensive Care Unit, which gives special care to those who are very sick;
often, relatives are not allowed to visit or touch someone in an ICU (NICU
is Natal Intensive Care Unit)
（重症监护室）
infant:
baby
(also called a newborn)
（新生儿）
to isolate:
to keep sth far away from others ("We need to isolate this illness to
protect other patients.")
to lodge: to
get stuck ("He couldn't breath because of candy lodged in this throat.")
*maternity:
related to motherhood ("Isn't this a cute maternity dress?" "Let's visit
the maternity ward.")
（产妇的）
natal:
related to birth ("Pre-natal medical care is very important." "The natal
unit delivered two babies today.")
（新生儿的）
*over-the-counter drugs: medicine that you can buy without a prescription
(Use hyphens if it is used as an adjective. "Many antibiotics are
available over the counter in developing countries.")
（非处方药）
to plummet
(plummeting): to fall quickly
postmortem
or post-mortem: BrE meaning "autopsy"; literally means "after death"
^seizure: a
short, sudden loss of control of one’s body (often due to illness or a
reaction to drugs)
（捕获、发作、惊厥）
*a shrink:
(informal) psychiatrist or mental health dr.
to spike: to
rise sharply and quickly and then fall again ("When electricity spikes, it
is bad for your computer." "Her fever is spiking at over 103°.")
*a superbug:
resistant bacteria; bacteria that can't be killed with common drugs（耐药菌）
*to take
precedence: to be more important, and thus needing more urgent attention
("In the emergency room, a heart attack takes precedence over a broken
arm.")
（优先）
*vice versa:
the other way around
Antibiotic resistance and the developing world
*antibiotics: drugs that kill bacteria and thus stop bacterial diseases
（抗生素）
bacteria
(plural): a microscopic one-celled life form; some bacterium are
good (causing decay, fermentation, etc) while others cause disease;
bacterial is the adjective form（细菌）
to ban (sth):
[vt] to say sth must not be done, seen, used, etc.
to curb: to
limit the growth or influence of sth（抑制）
*dilemma:
[c] a difficult situation caused when all choices seem equally good or bad
*to
eliminate: to completely stop or get rid of（消除）
to emerge:
to come out of sth or appear because of sth's influence（出现）
fake: [c &
adj] not real but looking real, esp. used to describe inexpensive copies
of things
FDA: Food
and Drug Agency (or Administration), a part of the government responsible
to test food and medicine to be sure it is safe, allow new drugs to be
sold, determine how to label ingredients, etc.
（[美国]食品及药物管理局）
*in the
first place: used to talk about circumstances at the start of a situation
(often related to a decision that later caused problems)
*in [the]
light of sth: taking sth into consideration（考虑到）
in the
pipeline: being prepared, hopefully to be ready soon（准备中）
*to
mushroom: to grow or develop very quickly（迅速生长）
*over the
counter (drugs): medicine that you can buy without a doctor’s prescription
(Use hyphens if it is used as an adjective. "Many antibiotics are
over-the-counter drugs in developing countries.")
（非处方药）
*panacea:
cure-all; sth that people think will solve or cure “everything”
*pathogen:
something that can cause a disease (e.g., a virus or bacteria)
*precaution:
what you do to prevent sth dangerous or unpleasant from happening
prudent:
sensible, esp. in light of the consequences
*resistant/resistance: partially able to keep from being damaged by sth
(e.g., water-resistant=difficult to damage with water)
（有抵抗力的）
side
effects: an unexpected (and often unwanted) effect/consequence caused by
medicine, events, change, etc. (“Side effects of this medicine include
headaches and a sore throat.”)
spurious:
not genuine or not based on fact (e.g., a spurious argument or
spurious research)
*STD:
sexually transmitted disease
strains (of
a disease): forms (of a disease, plant, etc.) that are similar (“This new
strain of TB is antibiotic resistant.”)
^superbug:
resistant bacteria; bacteria that can't be killed with common drugs（耐药菌）
supplements:
additions; things that help or improve [sth] when added, such as vitamin
pills and herbal “medicines”
（补给）
*viable:
full of life; able to succeed or grow (e.g., viable proposal, viable
embryo, viable immune system（有活力的、有活性的）
virus: a
microscopic parasite that makes people sick, or the disease caused by such
an organism (technically, a virus consists of a nucleic acid core within a
protein sheath)
（病毒）
Cancer Support: Tips for Family and Friends
^oncologist: a specialist in the study of tumors
*awkward: when you feel this way you are uncomfortable or embarrassed
because you are doing something that is emotionally difficult
*to
impose on sb: (formal) to ask sb to do sth that isn't convenient for them
("I don't want to impose, but could you…")
*upset: when you feel this way you are unhappy or worried due to
disappointment, bad news, etc.
to
reassure: to try to give sb confidence or make them feel better about a
bad situation or problem
*neglected: (vt) to fail to give the needed care or attention to
something, esp. because of carelessness or forgetfulness
a
surrogate: sb who takes the place of another ["After the puppy's
mother died, the vet (animal doctor) found a surrogate mother to
nurse (give milk to) him."]
an
omen: a sign of sth that will happen in the future ("Sailors think
that a red sky in the morning is a bad omen.")
^precaution: what you do to prevent sth dangerous or unpleasant
from happening
Shanghai
to get camp for Web addicts
youngsters:
[old-fashioned] young people or adolescents（年轻人）
^addicted:
unable to stop taking or doing something (a drug, habit, etc) [an addict
is sb who is addicted]
（沉溺于）
*camp: a
structured program with organized activities, games, lessons, crafts,
etc., often designed to help children learn a moral lesson or gain a
useful skill while having fun（露营）
*to recruit:
to look for people to join your company, school, army, etc.
（招募）
*to be
considered for sth: to be evaluated in order to determine if you
can do sth, are suitable for a job, etc.
（考虑过的）
*an alias: a
false name（化名）
*to bury
oneself in sth: to give all of one's attention or energy to sth（全身心投入）
*to skip
class: to choose not to go to class without a good reason (AmE, also
"playing hooky")（逃课）
^frustrated:
you feel this way when annoyed because you cannot change a situation,
understand something you are supposed to do, lack control, etc. (students
have given these translations:
憋屈,
惘然,
失意的,
气馁,
灰心,
沮丧,
失望)
*intervention (process): a method that gets involved (literally, “in the
middle”) in order to produce change, especially to prevent or treat sth
bad.
（干涉）
*volunteer (adj,
n, v): without pay; sb who chooses to do something to help others, or the
act of providing this help（志愿者）
to patrol:
to check on things in an area with some regularity, like police officers
who frequently walk through a neighborhood to be sure there is no trouble
or no one in need（巡逻）
House
(Christmas):
A few
phrases:
[4th,
5th, etc.] circle of hell: refers to a famous 14th century
Italian novel (Danté's Inferno, often studied as "the greatest
medieval poem") that supposedly described the different levels of
punishment after death (House/Wilson use this phrase when talking about
duties they hate, such as filling out medical records)
*pay through
the nose: to have to spend an unreasonable amount of money for something（花冤枉钱）
*pulled off
the market: taken out of stores so that no one can buy it anymore（下市）
to rat sb
out: to tell an authority about something sb did wrong; to betray sb by
speaking against them
that well
doesn't run dry: (rare) that topic is like a water well that never runs
out of water; you keep talking about something when you should forget it
A few
terms:
agnostic: to
believe that people cannot know whether or not God exists (A religious
person believes God does exist. An atheist believes that God
does not exist. An agnostic is not sure.)
^allergy/allergen/allergic: a condition that makes you ill because of
contact with something your body can’t handle; you are "allergic" to
"allergens"（过敏）
candy canes:
a popular J-shaped Christmas candy/decoration (House: "Candy canes? Are
you mocking me? …Relax. It's a joke.")
*cardiac:
related to the heart (cardiac arrest = heart attack—when your heart stops)
（心脏的）
cast: a
hard, temporary casing that doctors put on a broken bone to keep it still
while it heals
*defibrillator: a machine doctors use to electrically shock and thus
restart your heart（除颤器）
*derma-: a
prefix that means skin, so dermatitis (皮炎)
means skin inflammation（皮肤的）
divine (adj):
from God or related to Him, so "divine intervention" would mean "when God
gets involved to produce change"
*dose/dosage: the amount of a medicine you take at one time (two pills,
0.1cc, etc.)
（剂量）
*to
exacerbate: to cause sth bad to get worse
foster
home/foster care: a place where some children are raised (often
temporarily) if their parents are dead, in jail, etc.
*fragile:
easy to break（易碎的）
*hypo-: a
prefix that means below or abnormally low, so hypoallergenic
means abnormally low chance to cause an allergic reaction.
（低-）
hypochondria: the fear that you often have illnesses when you don't
hypochondriac: sb who suffers from hypochondria
infallible:
perfect; without error or mistakes
^injection:
shot; a way to give sb medicine（注射）
*malpractice: a legal term related to doctors' mistakes that should be
punished (malpractice insurance helps doctors pay to fight
lawsuits)
（失职）
^medication:
drugs or medicine (prescription or over-the-counter) used to treat
illnesses（医药）
miracle:
something unexpected but very good that happens (maybe with divine help) (奇迹?)
miserable:
extremely unhappy or uncomfortable, esp because life isn't the way you
want it
monastery: a
place where religious people live and study (修道院)
*negligent/negligence: careless, in such a way that your mistake can cause
damage ("I admit negligence, but I'm not guilty of malpractice.")
（疏忽）
*to notify:
to tell sb about something in a formal way. (Notice that you would say:
"If you need help, notify me" and not "…notice me." The
latter means "please look at me" and sounds funny.)
（通知）
nun: female
religious workers
*prognosis:
medical prediction; what a doctor thinks will happen as the result of an
illness（预后）
*secular:
not religious; not related to or under the authority of religious leaders（无宗教信仰的）
*stethoscope: a Y-shaped tool doctors use to listen to your heart and
lungs (听诊器)
to subside:
to gradually become less
*syringe: a
special medical tube with a needle, used for injections or take out your
blood（注射器）
Non-medical aid
*stage
(1,4,etc): a part of or time in sth's development（阶段）
*to credit
sth/sb: to praise sth/sb as the main reason for a good result
（归功于）
*supernatural: impossible to explain by normal causes; divine or magical
force
（超自然的）
skepticism: doubt（怀疑）
*vice versa:
conversely; the other way around（反之亦然）
*poll: a
survey that asks many people the same question to find out general
opinions about sth（民意测验）
strength:
power
(to do sth)
*trials:
hardships, distress, or tests (esp emotional)
*testimony:
proof based on sb's experience; formal statements about sb's experience (esp
in court)
（证据）
*intercessor: one who orally intervenes or speaks for sb, including by
prayer, pleading, argument, etc.
（仲裁者、调解人、说情者）
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