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California needs water!

 

加州終年陽光普照，但近日出現危機：鬧水荒！這個燦爛都市當真光輝到此？！

 

For more than a century, California has been the state where people flocked for a better life, shimmering with ambition and dreams, money and beauty. It was the cutting-edge symbol of possibility.

 

shimmer 發出微弱的閃光，閃爍

(verb 動詞)

 

例子： The sea was shimmering under the bright sunlight.

 

ambition 抱負；志向；雄心；野心

(noun 名詞)

 

例子：People with strong ambition tend to be very confident.

 

Kevin提到，ambition用法較為中性，其形容詞ambitious亦然；但說人aggressive，意思則是野心勃勃，比較負面了。

 

話說回來，因為地震、能源危機等原因，歷代不少人預言美國加州的奢華好日子到此為止，但這個地方的生命力卻一再令人跌眼鏡，不知道這一遭是否也一樣？

 

This state has survived many a catastrophe before — and defied the doomsayers who have regularly proclaimed the death of the California dream.

 

defy 對抗；違抗；反抗

(verb 動詞)

 

例子： Tony defied all odds in winning the lottery.

 

doomsayer 預言者 (特別指常報凶兆者)

(noun 名詞)

 

例子： The doomsayers were very skeptical about the new leader's abilities.

 

為保生計，加州當局採取霹靂手段，下令全州制水！

 

The governor’s executive order mandates a 25 percent overall reduction in water use throughout the state, to be achieved with varying requirements in different cities and villages.

 

mandate 授權；委任

(verb 動詞/ noun 名詞)

 

例子： The government's new mandate means people will need to take very quick showers.

 

日後渴水的花園草坪將不復見，取而代之的是耐旱植物。人們心目中的理想家居定義，勢必改寫！

 

Now, with utilities paying people to replace thirsty traditional grass turf with water-sipping native plants and other drought-tolerant shrubbery, long-held aesthetics are shifting.

 

shrubbery 灌木叢；灌木林

(noun 名詞)

 

► drought-tolerant shrubbery 耐旱灌木林

 

aesthetics 美學觀念

(noun 名詞)

 

► aesthetic 美學的

   (adjective 形容詞)

 

例子： The modern interpretation of the classic story showed the company's aesthetic strength.

 

 

Crystal’s slang time

 

drought 乾旱/ 好dry

(adjective 形容詞)

 

= dry spell, horny

 

► Opposite of drought 反義詞: tropics 性活躍的

 

不過，把最後一個 “s” 字拿走，意思就不同了！

 

tropic 正/ 型/ 酷

(adjective 形容詞)

 

例子：Check out this new song, it's tropic!

 

thirsty 過分熱心/ 饑渴 (諷刺語)

(adjective 形容詞)

 

例子：He keeps sending me messages to go out.  Way too thirsty.

   
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