倫倫的小blog

stale    /stel/

adj.不新鮮的, 走味的 [smelling or tasting unpleasant, mouldy or dry, because no longer fresh] 

  ex. My roommate forgets to eat the cake in the refrigerator. Now the cake is stale and has mold on it.

  ex. The air condition is out of function now, and the air in the factory is stale.

adj. 失去新意的 [no longer interesting because heard, done, etc too often before]

  ex. It is really a stale joke to me since I have heard this story from him at least 100 times.

  ex. Her performance has become stale.

  note: st or sta 等的字根，都與stand站，static靜態有些關連。

stalemate    /ˋstelˏmet/

n.僵局. [Stalemate is a situation in which neither side in an argument or contest can win or in which no progress is possible.] 

  ex. Starting from Oct 1, U.S. was facing a political stalemate and that resulted in the government shutdown for 16 days just because of two parties cannot agree the budget plan proposal from each other...

 related word:

  impasse n. /ˋɪmpæs/ (p. 248)

  deadlock n.  (p. 129)

stalk    /stɔk/

n.莖 [the stem or main axis of a plant.]

  ex. There are prickles on rose stalks. Be careful of your hands.

v. [to move quietly and slowly towards in order to get near without being seen]

  ex. A male lion is stalking a baby zebra, and how he is hiding in the bush and prepares to start a raid.

  ex. The strange man stalked the little girl after she left the school.

v. 高視闊步的走(因為生氣、或著是驕傲等)

  ex. He stalked angrily out of the room once he found he was not invited to farewell party.

stall    /stɔl/

v. [come to a stop]

  note: 具有阻止、拖延、避免的意思。

  ex. The workers wanted to come back to their offices and to serve, but the government stalled to pass the bills and only waited for the deadline.

  ex. He stalls answering my question and always says he is busy.

v. 汽車熄火、飛機突然失控下降

  ex. Our car stalled yesterday on the high way, so we had to call the road service.

  ex. The engine stalls! we need to find out the problem.

n. [small area set off by walls for special use]

  note: An animal stall is an enclosure housing one or a few animals.

  note: A market stall is usually an immobile temporary structure erected by merchants to display and shelter their merchandise.

  note: A restroom stall 就是廁所的小隔間

stalwart    /ˋstɔlwɚt/

adj.忠實的, 強壯的  [marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit]

   note: 指不論是體型上或者是心靈上的強壯，特別指的是具有忠誠，對目標不移，

   ex. Spartan soldiers  are really stalwart. They take dying for their city state as the highest pride of life.

   ex. No matter how this Baseball team loses games, he is always a stalwart supporter.

stammer    /ˋstæmɚ/

v.  [to speak haltingly and to have trouble getting the words out.]

  ex. He stammered to say "good-bye" when he knew this might be the last chance to see his wife after going for a war.

  ex. She stammers and clutches my arm when the bus we are riding passes the edge of a cliff.

  note: stutter n.口吃的人 v. 口吃

 Stuttering is a neurological condition (CNN)

stamp    /stæmp/

v.重踩 [to put one's foot down heavily on the ground, or sth; to flatten sth by doing this]

  note: stamp 是個很常用的字，他有許多的意思。但最源頭都可以追溯到重踩這個字義。

  ex. She stamped her foot angrily when finding her notebook was stolen.

  ex. To stamp fire after finishing campfire.

  ex. To stamp a roach !!

n. 圖章

  ex. a rubber stamp, a metal stamp

  ex. a stamp to print the date of entering on the passport.

n. 印記

  ex. the time stamp of this picture is Oct. 1st.

n. 郵票

n.特點; 特質

  ex. Most of us want to make our home a familiar place and put the stamp of our personality on its walls.

stance    /stæns/

n.站姿 [ the manner and position in which a person or animal stands, posture]

  ex. The comedian starts his show from a stance with only one foot on the ground, pretending he knows kung fu.

  ex. Her stance with slender legs and high heels is so attractive and beautiful.

n.立場

  ex. Newspapers may have a different political stance, so we should develop our own judgement and not blindly absorb and follow them.

   關於立場的字: attitude, stand, standpoint, viewpoint

stanch    /stantʃ/

v.止血 [to check or stop the flowing of sth] 

   ex. to stanch the bleeding from a wound.

   ex. The only way to stanch the bleeding from a broken heart is to recieve  forgiveness from her.

   ex. Due to the sponsed comany wants to stanch the raging deficit, Brother Elephant professional baseball team is on sale now.

   note: sta or stand 都有不動的意思，所以可以看到止血就是讓血液不在流出傷口的意思。

stanza

n. [group of (esp rhyming) lines forming a unit in some types of poem; verse]

在文章中，我們指一的段落，叫 paragraph，也就是數個sentences所形成的個block.

而在詩(poem)，像是十四行詩(sonnet)，這種有韻律格式的文字形成的block，我們則是用stanza 或是 verse 來指稱。像 Shakespeare十四行詩中，他常用4-4-4-2的結構，前面三個stanzas是由四行所組成的，在裡面的韻律結構是一樣的。

關於verse 的用法，一般我們也可以指整個詩。但是也可以詩(poem)、歌曲(song)、聖經或古蘭經的一個段落。

我們之前也學過 refrain，他也是指詩或歌的一種重覆性的lines，。比方說，我下面隨便寫的一首詩。

水缸中的小丑魚想著大海的聲音，張大眼睛不成眠。

盼著盼著春就過了。 <--refrain

遲開的鳳凰花，來不及牽起她的手，亭階綠滿苔痕。

盼著盼著夏就過了。 <--refrain

千鳥飛過燦紅的楓林，趕著找到結束戰爭的鐘聲。

盼著盼著秋就過了。<--refrain

躲鞋子的總統，633的承諾。

盼著盼著冬就過了。<--refrain

staple    /ˋstepl/

n. [main product that a country or district trades in]

  ex.Cotton is one of Egypt's staples.

  note: staple 在當作形容詞的時候，就是指 main, principle. 常用的是 staple food = 主要的食物， staple product = 主要的產品。

  ex. Rice is the staple food in many Asian countries.

  note: 在美國 Staples是個知名的文具(但還有賣其他的東西)的連鎖商店。因為它字面上的意思就是main product, basic product的意思唷。

n. 訂書釘的釘針

  note: 當你要拿釘書機釘紙時，是這樣說的： I need a stapler to staple these papers before I submit to my TA.

starch    /stɑrtʃ/

n.澱粉 (像是米、potato中就含有很多澱粉)

  note: starchy adj. 澱粉的, 刻板的

  字源上starch是來自中世紀，最早的意思是"使變硬"的意思，也因此在形容詞starchy中，我們還可以看到保留的字義。16~17世紀的歐洲人會將澱粉水噴灑在衣服上，然後在去燙平，這樣會使衣服很挺直，特別是用在衣領上。另外的用途是向汗水、灰塵會沾在外層的澱粉上，而不會附在衣服上，這樣比較好清洗。在我們現代的生活中，也有商品叫 laundry starch 可以買的到，是用在燙西裝時用的。

stark    /stɑrk/

note: stark 有著相當多的解釋，但都與" extreme and complete"有關，

像是形容對比很強烈，stark contrast,

像是形容沙漠中光禿禿的一片，什麼都沒有， a stark desert, 家裡完全沒什麼擺設， a stark house。

像是說一個極度困難的選擇， a stark choice.

像是指一件完全沒有遮掩的事實，a stark fact.

另外，stark也是個很常用在地名的字唷。

Iron Man 3 -- Official Trailer UK Marvel (Release date: May 3, 2013)

 電影中的男主角名字就叫做Tony Stark, 他的公司 -- Stark company.

startle

v.驚嚇或嚇一跳 [to give a sudden shock or surprise to (a person or an animal); cause to move or jump suddenly (from surprise] ]

  ex. There is sudden boom and fire coming out the car next to me. That really startes me to death.

 related word: frighten, surprise, astonish, astound, scare, shock

 etymology: start to jump.

stasis    /stæsis/

n.停滯  [the state of equilibrium or inactivity caused by opposing equal forces.]

  note: 特別指的像是因為有兩邊在施力，例如拔河，而導致沒有一方可以進展。

  ex.  Companies want employees to work harder and with less salaries. But employees want companies to improve working environment and enhance income. Each part is in stasis. No people feel happy toward the recent situation.