convex mirror

convex mirror 凸鏡
convex lens 凸透鏡

riddled with

Full of

iPod owners say a new version of the companion Apple iTunes software released yesterday is riddled with glitches.

[ iTunes branded a lemon ]

snag

n. 意料不到的障礙

The US Energy Information Administration said it expected no shortages of gasoline or diesel supplies. But the motoring and travel group AAA warned gasoline prices at the pump were poised to strike a record due to the snag.

Middle East tensions festered as Iran threatened to use its oil exports to fight the West's insistence that it give up its nuclear enrichment program. Also, Lebanon rejected a draft UN resolution meant to end the war between Israel and Hizbollah.

Crude for September delivery settled $2.22 higher at at $76.98 a barrel, after peaking for the day at $77.30, highest since July 17.

remonstration

n. act of expressing objection, act of making a statement of protest; expression of protest, statement of objection

The cards outline the bar's obligations under the Sale of Liquor Act. The yellow one politely warns recipients "we feel that you might need to slow down".

The red card states: "It is now time for you to stop!" and signals that the drinker should leave. To counter any remonstrations a red-carded offender gets a free drink – the next time they visit.

[ Bar patrons could be seeing red ]

manslaughter

n. 誤殺

A Fairfield doctor Suman Sood pleaded not guilty today to two charges relating to providing an abortion drug and one of manslaughter of a premature baby.

[ Doctor denies baby manslaughter ]

conducive

We hope that all sides will maintain calm and restraint, and do things conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia and do not take any further steps that will add to tensions and further complicate the situation.

[ China concerned by missile tests ]

plastic surgeon

n. 整形外科醫生



A MELBOURNE plastic surgeon is ready to conduct Australia's first full face transplant.

[ Surgeon ready to perform face transplant ]

shoddy

badly and carelessly made, using low quality materials

The damning submission, by a serving defence force member, adds weight to evidence by "Soldier 17" to the military inquiry into the death of Private Jake Kovco, that the safety of troops in Iraq is being compromised by shoddy equipment.

[ Australian soldiers 'poorly equipped' ]

contemplate

v. consider, think about; look at

Some have hailed Apple's iTunes music service as a distribution model for other media now contemplating the shift to online content delivery methods. But not everyone is convinced consumers will welcome such a total transformation.

[ Copy wrongs and rights ]

sceptical

adj. doubtful, hesitant

"This is a wonderful symbol of the success of the Government's economic policies," Mr Howard said.
The figures are a relief for the Government, which has been struggling to sell its workplace changes to a sceptical public.
Unemployment in Victoria fell from 5.3 per cent to a 16-year low of 5 per cent as the proportion of people officially seeking work fell.

[ Jobless fall sets Howard rejoicing at changes ]

spell out

explain in detail

On the sidelines of the event, Gartner analyst Tom Austin said Microsoft delivered a "good campaign message" that showed that its services can compete with those rivals, but said the company still needs to spell out its plans further.

[ MS in $677m IBM challenge ]

contaminated

v. polluted

Sydney model Michelle Leslie was set up by Indonesian police who poured the party drug ecstasy into her urine sample, her father says.

Newspapers obtained documents used in Leslie's Bali trial for ecstasy possession.

[ Michelle Leslie's urine contaminated, father says ]

crystalline

adj. made of crystal, crystal-like, opaque

The key to pushing the technology is a fluid immersion process for conducting light onto material that is etched to form a circuit pattern. Researchers discovered they could enhance the resolving power of a light source by using a lens made from crystalline quartz material.

[ Reprieve for Moore's Law ]

cheeky

A tribute for dead siblings Abby and Shane Hirst from their mother and her partner in today's Sunraysia Daily read: "Ab, we shared so much together, be it our love of dogs and sport, or our grumpy little days, one thing we will really miss is seeing your cheeky grin."

"Shaney, my little man of the house, you tried so hard to be the best you could be, even though a lot of the time we disagreed. You will always be my special little man."

[ 'We'll miss your cheeky grin' ]

precinct

AUSTRALIA'S largest convention centre will be built in Melbourne within three years as part of a $1 billion "mini-city" along the Yarra River.

The bold precinct will include a five-star Hilton hotel, 40 apartments, offices and shops in what Premier Steve Bracks yesterday described as the biggest urban renewal project on a single site ever undertaken in Victoria.

[ $1bn mini-city along the Yarra ]

convene

v. assemble; gather

INFLATION will remain low and investment attractive as business spending replaces easing household demand, says Reserve Bank deputy governor Glenn Stevens.

Mr Stevens, speaking at a seminar convened by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, said continued demand for resources, increased business investment, strong profits and low finance contributed to a propitious investment environment.

His comments came as figures showed wage increases were not a threat to inflation and the Australian Stock Exchange was at near record highs

[ Higher wages no threat to inflation ]

constituency

n. voting district; voters in a district, electoral district

The national secretary of the CFMEU's construction division, John Sutton, accused the Government of running a de facto guest worker program through its short-stay business visa program. "They've got one set of rhetoric for the public and another for their business constituency," he said.

[ Welcome to Australia - bad luck about your pay ]

relentless

adj. severe, harsh, unrelenting, unyielding

As chip features now approach the fundamental scale limits of individual atoms and molecules, the future of this trend of relentless improvement, referred to as Moore's Law, is in jeopardy, IBM scientists said.

[ Smaller, cheaper, faster chips ]

accrue

v. accumulate, amass, compile; increase; grow

CALLS for longer-term home loans to solve a crisis in housing costs have not yet gained traction in the mortgage industry, according to insiders, but should they become available, borrower beware.

The research says such loans often accrue less interest than their terms suggest because few people hold the loan for its entire term. The research says people typically restructure their mortgages or move to different homes within seven years of the loan's establishment.

[ Borrowers warned over longer-term home loans ]

tally

n. reckoning, score, total; something on which an account or score is kept; mark made to keep record of a number of items

A near-record month for home lending in December has seen the housing and real estate industry turn into 2006 with wind in its sails and record numbers of people taking out loans to buy their own homes.

The Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday that the total amount lent for housing in December was the second highest on record. After seasonal adjustment, Australians borrowed $18.9 billion for housing, up 3 per cent on November's tally, and 11 per cent more than a year ago.

The only month to exceed it was when the rental investment frenzy peaked in October 2003, when investors borrowed $7.5 billion. But, while investor borrowing is now well below those levels, borrowing by owner-occupiers is setting records every month.

[ Housing market is reheating ]

wane

v. diminish; decline; ebb, subside, dwindle; approach the end (of life, a period, etc.)
waning
adj. diminishing (moon); declining; ebbing, subsiding, dwindling; approaching the end (of life, a period, etc.)

The Reserve has not lifted interest rates since last March. With the jobs market waning, some analysts are now suggesting that the next move could be down.

[ Cheap goods keep lid on interest rise ]

log

v. cut down a tree or trees; cut a tree into sections; write in a log, make entries in a journal; travel at a certain speed, travel for a certain period of time

EPA chairman Mick Bourke said the East Gippsland breaches — where timber workers logged more than a hectare of the Errinundra National Park at one site and breached coupe boundaries by a total of nearly 15 hectares at two others — were signs of a systemic problem.

[ Alarm at logging breaches ]

furnish

v. fill a house with furniture and appliances; supply, provide; equip

References and even the phrase "References furnished upon request" are usually omitted. However, before you go on the job market, you should line up your references -- preferably a mix of academic and non-academic ones. Explain what jobs you are seeking and prime them (with a typed list, perhaps) to emphasize your skills and traits appropriate for that work. For the job interview, you might prepare a list of references with contact information, in case employers ask for names.

Trample

Trampling: v. tread heavily or noisily, tread underfoot, crush

In the 1890s, a Frenchman called Edouard Drumont ran a newspaper full of crude caricatures of Jews and articles that railed against their increasing dominance of French and European life, reaching fever pitch during the treason trial of French officer Alfred Dreyfus. Drumont called his paper La Libre Parole - "The Free Speech".

As the Danish cartoon row spreads and editors hurry to wrap themselves in the mantle of Voltaire, it is worth noting that most of civilised Europe today gladly accepts (and in some cases even legislates to preserve) a taboo on the kinds of free speech that Drumont sought to establish.

[ Trampling others' beliefs in defence of yours ]

elastic

elastic (from Cambridge)
His trousers were held up with a piece of elastic.

elastic band = rubber band (UK)

tumble

From living the high-flying lifestyle of property developer to the stars, former TEAC boss Gavin Muir has come tumbling down, writes Helen Westerman.

[ The House of Muir tumbles ]

vitality

1. 活力,生氣

Continual fevers weaken the vitality.

連續發燒會使人元氣大傷。

2. 生命力

3. 生動性

collapse

swelter n. 1. 熱得難受,熱得喘不過氣來 2. 熱得出汗

AT LEAST 80 people collapsed due to the extreme heat in Melbourne yesterday.

The Metropolitan Ambulance Service yesterday reported its busiest day so far this summer and there was little respite expected for emergency services overnight.

Ambulance service operations manager Paul Holman said he had heard of numerous incidents around Victoria, including the collapse of 13 people at the end of a fun run in Ocean Grove.
...
Mr Holman said 80 people had collapsed from heat exhaustion by 5pm yesterday, and there had been several further incidents reported since.

The ambulance service expected to be in for a busy night, and was bracing for further hot conditions later in the week.

[ Scores collapse as city bakes ]

boost

Hyundai has also fiddled with the other mechanicals to polish the Getz's road manners, and the addition of active front head restraints and, on 1.6 models, anti-lock brakes (ABS), give safety a boost. The cabin has been treated to a slight clean-up, and added features improve the already convincing value pitch.

[ Hyundai Getz 1.4 3-Door ]

threshold

n. doorstep, doorway, entrance; brink, verge, beginning

The State Government hopes its changes to land tax, introduced in the last budget, will take the political sting out of the issue. About 375,000 fewer people will pay the tax this year than last year because of the reintroduction of a threshold.

[ Land tax prices to go through the roof ]

perpendicular

noun or adj.

But with some drives now topping out at 500 gigabytes, the miniaturisation is nearly at its limit. Made any smaller, the particles can begin to interfere with the magnetism of their neighbours. The result is disastrous for data.

By storing bits in a vertical, or perpendicular, arrangement, engineers are able to boost capacity by taking advantage of the real estate that is freed up.

[ A boost to hard drive capacity ]

underprivileged

the underprivileged plural noun POLITE EXPRESSION FOR poor people from Cambridge

Senior Constable Olsen, 34, had been stationed in Moe for eight years and was a well-liked school resource officer for the LaTrobe Valley. She also worked with the underprivileged who lived in public housing in the area.

[ Dedicated policewoman's death shocks town ]

forensic

Qoro's lawyer David Barrow argued the prosecution case was weak and relied on as yet inconclusive forensic evidence.

[ Man refused bail over group sex assault ]

flock

to move or gather together in large numbers:

Figures from the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, obtained by The Age, show the number of first-preference applications for HECS or government places dropped by 2.5 per cent to 54,872.

In 2005, the number of applications dropped by 4 per cent.
...

Despite the overall fall in demand, students have flocked to the prestige institutions, Melbourne and Monash. These two and Deakin University have all recorded an increase in

Melbourne posted a 4.9 per cent increase in first-preference applications, Deakin a 5.2 per cent jump and Monash a 2.8 per cent rise.


[ Rising costs cut demand for uni places ]