usurious

usurious  過高的

 usurious  interest

The IMF’s loans to Greece have not only bailed out banks which lent recklessly in the first place, they have actively taken even more money out of the country. This usurious interest adds to the unjust debt forced on the people of Greece.

half-baked idea 考慮不周的主意

half-baked idea 考慮不周的主意

universal truth 普遍真理 / 放諸四海皆準

universal truth 普遍真理 / 放諸四海皆準

Use of "where" --> the place that

We went where the government didn’t go, where there were no hospitals, no schools and sometimes even no running water.

(我们前往那些政府都不涉足的地方，那里没有医院、学校，有时甚至都没有自来水。)

Nowadays, one of the most dangerous jobs in Mexico is driving a delivery truck down what Graham Greene called “lawless roads,” where delivery men are robbed, extorted and even killed.

(如今，墨西哥最危险的工作之一就是开着货车经过格雷厄姆·格林(Graham Greene)所说的“不法之路”，送货员在那里会遭到抢劫、敲诈，甚至会被杀害。)

an immovable bedrock 不可動搖的基石

an immovable bedrock 不可動搖的基石

resonate 響徹 / 產生共鳴

resonate 響徹 / 產生共鳴

e.g. The music resonated through the streets

e.g. A hall resonating with laughter

e.g. An idea that resonates with many voter

Every words of that resonates and rings true today. (以上字字鏗鏘，擲地有聲，一字一句至今仍然適用。)

little hope 希望渺茫

little hope 希望渺茫

If courts are corrupt, swayed by prejudice, or subject to improper influence by outside persons or bodies, little hope exists for the protection of the rights of the individual. (如果法院腐敗，被偏見所左右，或受外界人士或機構不當影響，個人權利受保護的希望就變得渺茫。)

to wallow in self-glory 自我陶醉

to wallow in self-glory 自我陶醉

count/ counts

count計算

counts 價值

Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts. (不是所有有價值的東西可以被計算，亦不是所有可計算的東西是有價值的。)

adjunct 附從

adjunct 附從

adjunct of deal 商業交易的附從

Adjunct Professor 客席教授

moral fabric 道德意識

moral fabric 道德意識

ordinary mortals 百姓

ordinary mortals 百姓

sterile 不能生育的 / 貧瘠的 / 意指缺乏[結果]

sterile 不能生育的 / 貧瘠的 / 意指缺乏[結果]

e.g. She became sterile because of exposure to radiation.(她因接觸輻射而失去了生育能力。)

e.g. a sterile environment. (無菌的環境)

e.g. Land that is sterile cannot be used for growing crops. (土地貧瘠得不長植物。)

e.g. sterile thought   缺乏新意的想法

e.g. a sterile debate 沒完沒了的爭論

grave 墳墓 / 嚴重

grave 墳墓 / 嚴重

e.g. Had his spirit returned from the grave to haunt them? (是不是他的鬼魂從墳墓裡回來纏上了他們？)

e.g. The way Bill plays that piece would have Mozart turning in his grave. (比爾那樣演奏那首曲子莫扎特在九泉之下也不會贊成。)

e.g. It would be a grave mistake if society were led into thinking that this is the “be all and end all” of Rule of Law. (假若大家以為這就是法治的全部便大錯特錯了。)

a broken record 跳了線的唱片

a broken record 跳了線的唱片

For regular attendants of this ceremony, I may sound like a broken record when I start off my speech today by talking about the perennial problem of legal aid. (這典禮的常客聽到我首先要說的是有關法律援助這個每年都談的問題時，也許會認為我的發言像一張跳了線的唱片，不斷重覆。)

beyond repair 無藥可救

beyond repair 無藥可救

a bad boy beyond repair 無藥可救的壞男孩

diplomatic concessions 外交讓步

diplomatic concessions 外交讓步

Use of Brain

Use of Brain: 

Ÿ   the brains behind 幕後的主腦人物

Ÿ   brains, not brawns = intelligence, not strength 重腦力，多於體力

Ÿ   beat one’s brains out = think very hard to solve a problem 絞盡腦汁

Ÿ   pick somebody’s brains 向某人請教，吸收他的意見或知識，為己所用

Ÿ   rack my brains大動腦筋
這句成語也可以說:wreck my brains/cudgel my brains：I racked my brains, trying to think what on earth to do.

Ÿ   brainchild = one’s own idea 腦力勞動的產物，如思想、作品、發明、發現等

Ÿ   have a brainwave = have a sudden inspiration 突然想到的妙計

Ÿ   a brain trust = a discussion group of experts 智囊團

swan song 輓歌

swan song 輓歌

歐洲人傳說天鵝一生只在臨死時唱一次歌。

fat-finger errors誤按

fat-finger errors誤按