spine-tingling 令人激動的 / 令人又驚又喜的

spine-tingling 令人激動的 / 令人又驚又喜的

If you are in politics or public life, you probably had some moment of spine-tingling transcendence. Maybe you read the Declaration of Independence or watched the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s mountaintop sermon, or read Nelson Mandela’s 1964 speech from the dock. (如果你從事政治或公眾事業，你或許曾經歷過一些驚神泣鬼的超驗瞬間。也許你在讀《獨立宣言》或者看小馬丁路德金牧師的“頂峰”佈道，又或者讀納爾遜·曼德拉1964年站在被告席上的演講。)

transcendence 超越常態 / 卓絕 / 超然存在

e.g. The desire for peace transcend political difference.

e.g. The transcendent genius of Mozart …….

dock 被告席 / 船塢 / 碼頭 / 羊蹄

swimmingly 順利流暢地

swimmingly 順利流暢地

"Starting with the presidency of Felipe Calderón, from 2006 to 2012, the government lost control over the war on drug cartels and failed to fulfill its part of the social contract. It has been unable to guarantee the safety of its citizens and to implement educational reforms, but it has given politicians carte blanche to earn money through illegal means and to benefit swimmingly from their tolerance of private monopolies. The government has been truly valiant, however, when it comes to assaulting its citizens with more taxes."

(自利佩·卡爾德龍(Felipe Calderón)在2006年至2012年擔任總統以來，政府就失去了對打擊販毒集團的行動的控制，沒能履行其社會契約。政府無法保障公民的安全，無法實施教育改革，但卻給予政治人士空頭支票，使其可以通過非法途徑牟利，通過寬容對待私人壟斷而輕易獲益。然而政府在對人民徵收更多賦稅的時候卻十分之雷厲風行。)

carte blanche 白紙 / 全權處理(花錢的權力)

give sb carte blanche 授予sb全權處理 [idiom]

We were given carte blanche to redecorate the hotel .   (我們獲授予全權重新裝修酒店。)

It has given politicians carte blanche to earn money through illegal means. (政客被賦予以非法手段謀利利的權力) 

valiant 勇敢地

call a spade a spade 實話實說 / 堂堂正正

call a spade a spade 實話實說 / 堂堂正正

e.g. it (government) should “call a spade a spade” and put them (political implication) forward for open discussion.(政府就應該堂堂正正把這些政治理由拿出來讓公眾討論。)

heads I win tails you lose 輸打贏要

heads I win tails you lose 輸打贏要 (反正我也是贏)

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。)

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

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。)

spoof 嘲諷性的模仿作品/ 愚弄; 欺騙

spoof 嘲諷性的模仿作品/ 愚弄; 欺騙

e.g. ' A  Five  Minute  Hamlet '  is  an  amusing  spoof  of  Shakespeare ' s most  famous  play .(《五分鐘哈姆雷特》是一齣模仿莎士比亞最著名的戲劇的滑稽劇。)

e.g. Yan Oi Court Garden in Kwun Tong is the sad winner of the Spoof Award as the least desirable public space. Surrounded by tall fences this public space resembles a jail or animal cage. (觀塘仁愛圍花園為「最需改善的公共空間」。公園被欄柵圍著，在內歇息有如置身在監牢，笑稱「鳥籠公園」。)

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

Road to Damascus 使人信念改變的經歷

Road to Damascus形容一些使人信仰或信念上作180度改變的經歷

典故：保羅逼迫基督徒。他在往大馬士革途中突然盲了，基督使他回復視力，自此保羅成為最堅定的教徒。

e.g. It was this chance meeting in a bar in Portland that he would later describe as his road to Damascus.

Complimentary讚揚的/ 免費的

Complimentary讚揚的/ 免費的

He made some very complimentary remarks about your work. 他大力讚揚你的工作。

two complimentary tickets 贈劵

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。

keeping its cards close to its chest 仍未公佈

keeping its cards close to its chest 仍未公佈

As for the ministry, it is keeping its cards close to its chest. 仍未公佈

fat-finger errors誤按

fat-finger errors誤按

Waters and Sands

加"s"變大~

Waters 水域

Sands 一大片黃沙地 (walking on the sands)