倫倫的小blog

taper    /ˋtepɚ/

v. [to become gradually smaller toward one end; become less in amount]

  note: 我遇到這個字是在跟別人討論detector的外型時聽到的，tapering at the end.

  ex. a 70 percent chance of showers during the day, tapering off to 20 percent at night.

  ex. Although the anger between two lovers tapered, a strong dislike still lasted.

  ex. the intense demand for iPhone 6 may taper at the end of this year.

  similar and common words: abate, dwindle, subside

n.細蠟燭 [length of wax-covered thread like a very thin candle burned to give light or to light other candles, etc]

tapestry    /ˋtæpəstrɪ/

n. [cloth into which threads of coloured wool are woven or embroidered by hand to make pictures or designs, used for covering walls and furniture]

making a tapestry:A nine-month process condensed to 10 minutes

The Animated Bayeux(音近：ber) Tapestry: nearly 70 meters long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.

tardy    /ˋtɑrdɪ/

tard(slow)-y

adj. [slow to act, move or happen]

  ex. The tardy response to Ebola ought to prompt deep soul-searching about how not to let it happen again.  (ref)

  ex. "Don't be tardy to school", mom says.

note: retard v.遲緩

ex. Brain damage will retard the language response speed.

tariff    /ˋtærɪf/

n.進出口貨物關稅 [a tax that a government collects on goods coming into a country]

 ex. ECFA ( 兩岸經濟合作架構協議) aims to reduce tariffs and commercial barriers between the two sides.

note: protective tariff

How to calculate the impact of import and export tariffs.

tarnish    /ˋtɑrnɪʃ/

v.暴露於空氣或潮氣失去光澤 [lose its brightness by being exposed to air or damp]

  ex. Silver tends to tarnish easily.

v. 損害名譽

  ex. This scandal of manipulating data heavily tarnished his reputation, and forced him abandoned from academia.

note: burnish v.打磨光亮 ( review p.399)

ex. Apple's CEO, He burnished his reputation by leading the company from being almost bankrupt  to dominant in the market just in 10 years.

how to remove tarnish and clean silver coins, bars, or jewelry 

tarpaulin    /tɑrˋpɔlɪn/

n.  [a fabric made of canvas or similar material coated with tar, wax, paint, or some other waterproof substance.]

  ex. When it is raining during a baseball game, if the umpires decide to wait until the rain abates, the staffs will use a big tarpaulin to cover the infield area.

 etymology: tarpaulin originated as a compound of the words tar and palling, referring to a tarred canvas pall used to cover objects on ships

tart    /tɑrt/

adj. [agreeably sharp or acid to the taste]

  ex. kiwi fruit tastes tart. 

  note: 也可以用來指事情、言論很酸. ex. This embarrassing small and tart moment will stay with me forever.

  just for review: tangy adj. (lemonlike)

n. 更為人知的一種意思是指一種沒有 top crust的糕點

  ex. egg tart =蛋塔

  ex. cherry tart

How to Make Hong Kong Egg Tarts

tasty    /'teɪstɪ/

taste-y

adj.美味的

  ex. After serving in military for 3 months, I found every dish from mom amazingly tasty.

  similar word: savory, delicious

  note: 西提牛排的店名就是用TASTy

tatty    /ˋtætɪ/

adj. [cheap or tawdry]

  similar word: squalid(p.445), dingy(p.148),  filthy (p.202)

  ex. a tatty bedroom filled with books, trash, and scattered clothes.

<> smart

Our Story: Tatty Devine

 note: Tattay Devine is a brand name for a jewellery company.

我想devine, 是故意讓人想到divine adj.神的這個字。

taut    /tɔt/

adj.拉緊的 [tightly drawn; tense; not slack.]

  note: taught 是 teach的過去式， 發音跟我們這邊討論的taut是因樣的。

  ex. When muscles are taut or cold there is more chance of injury or strain.

  ex. The speaker's face looks taut, apparently he is too nervous. 

tauten    /ˋtɔtn/

v.[ become taut ]

  note: taut 還滿常用的，但是tauten就比較少用了。

tawdry    /ˋtɔdrɪ/

adj.俗麗的 [showy or gaudy but without real value]

  ex. I really think that the woman undertook plastic surgeries to make three boobs only makes her tawdry.

  similar word: tacky, gaudy

taxing

tax-ing

adj.負重擔的 [demanding]

  ex. You should rest today. At least don't do  any taxing exercise.

  ex. I cannot promise you to finish the simulation of the trajectories of Solar system this week, since it is a very taxing calculation for my computer.

taxonomist    /tækˈsɒnəmist/

tax(Gk. taxis "arrangement")-o-nomy-ist

n.分類學者 [person who study the science or technique of classification.]

   note: The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus is regarded as the father of taxonomy, as he developed a system known as Linnaean classification for categorization of organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms.

Carolus Linnaeus and Modern Taxonomy

 A film about Carl Linnaeus | Natural History Museum

tease    /tiz/

v.捉弄  「to disturb or annoy by persistent irritating or provoking especially in a petty or mischievous way」

   ex. Samsung smart phone users often tease iphone having a smaller screen, and now they turn to tease the iphone is too easily to be bent.

  ex. Sometimes a child in school will be teased when he cannot catch up with his peer either in homework or sport activities.

  note: she is teasing you...指的是性上的挑逗，但吃不到。