solace, inspiration, cracked up, Collapses Into sb's arms

The Enlightenment; An Interpretation. Vol. II: The Science of Freedom. By Peter Gay. 705 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $10. The Enlightenment

By HENRY STEELE COMMAGER

November 16, 1969, Sunday

Section: Book Review, Page BR4, 1912 words

Once again, as in the late Victorian era, we are turning back to the Enlightenment, both for solace and for inspiration. "History," writes Peter Gay, "has been far from gentle with its hopes and predictions. . . . The world has not turned out the way the philosophers wished, and half expected, that it would.

Why Antidepressants Don't Live Up to the Hype

By JOHN CLOUD

It's not that antidepressants like Prozac don't work at all -- just that several studies suggest they're not quite the panacea they were cracked up to be

GM Collapses Into Government's Arms

GM made its bankruptcy court filing, the second largest from an industrial company in history. The auto maker will close 17 factories and parts centers, and cut a further 20,000 jobs.

collapse
v., -lapsed, -laps·ing, -laps·es. v.intr.

1. To fall down or inward suddenly; cave in.
2. To break down suddenly in strength or health and thereby cease to function: a monarchy that collapsed.
3. To fold compactly: chairs that collapse for storage.

v.tr.
To cause to fold, break down, or fall down or inward.
n.

1. The act of falling down or inward, as from loss of supports.
2. An abrupt failure of function, strength, or health; a breakdown.
3. An abrupt loss of perceived value or of effect: the collapse of popular respect for the integrity of world leaders.

[Latin collābī, collāps-, to fall together : com-, com- + lābī, to fall.]

collapsibility col·laps'i·bil'i·ty n.
collapsable col·laps'a·ble or col·laps'i·ble adj.
標題讓我哈哈 想起少年獨翻譯小說 昏了過去ˇ給某人接住 GM Collapses Into Government's Arms

crack up

1. Suffer an emotional breakdown, become insane, as in He might crack up under the strain. This usage alludes to the result of cracking one's skull; from the early 1600s to crack alone was used in this way. [Slang; early 1900s]

2. Damage or wreck a vehicle or vessel. For example, I'm always afraid that I'll crack up the car.

3. Experience a crash, as in We cracked up on the freeway in the middle of the ice storm.

4. Also, crack someone up. Burst or cause to burst out laughing, as in The audience cracked up, or That joke really cracked me up. [Slang; c. 1940] Also see break up, def. 6. All of these expressions derive from crack in the sense of "break into pieces" or "collapse," a usage dating from the late 1600s. Also see cracked up.

cracked up

1. Past tense of crack up.

2. cracked up to be. Reputed to be. This expression is always used in a negative way, as in I don't think this book is all it's cracked up to be. It relies on the now obsolete use of to crack up to mean "to praise extravagantly." It appeared in The Kentuckian: "He is not the thing he is cracked up for" (May 28, 1829). [Early 1800s]

3. Under the influence of crack (a form of cocaine). For example, "Who's cracked up, who's cracked out, and who's dead?" (World News Tonight, ABC-TV, May 12, 1992). [1980s]

solace 
noun [S or U] LITERARY
help and comfort when you are feeling sad or worried:
When his wife left him, he found solace in the bottle (= drank alcohol).
Music was a great solace to me during this period.

solace
verb [T] LITERARY
to give help and comfort to someone when they are feeling sad or worried

inspiration
noun
1 [C or U] someone or something that gives you ideas for doing something:
The golden autumn light provided the inspiration for the painting.
He went to church, perhaps seeking divine inspiration.

2 [C] a sudden good idea:
He had an inspiration - why not apply for some government money?

3 [S] an example which people admire:
She has been an inspiration to us all.

BBC
各家報紙都報道了第22部007電影制片人舉行新聞發布會的消息。影片將在11月7日首映，名字叫 quantum of solace。許多人認為這個片名令人費解。《衛報》的報道引述007主演克雷格的話說，他也是逐漸理解其中的含義的。
quantum其實是一個物理學詞匯，指一個需要達到的限量。也許可以把這個電影的中文名字叫做，"寬慰量子"。
《泰晤士報》的報道還引述這部電影的頭號反派人物扮演者阿馬爾里克的話說，他需要從內心刻畫人物的邪惡。他開玩笑說，他正在從英國前首相布萊爾的微笑和法國總統薩爾科奇的眼神里得到啟發。

Quantum of Solace"

"Quantum of Solace" is not a spy story, and Bond appears only in the background. Told in the style of W. Somerset Maugham, the tale has Bond attending a boring dinner party at the Government House in Nassau with a group of socialites he cannot stand.
After dinner when the other guests have left, Bond makes an offensive remark in order to stimulate conversation. This solicits a careful reply from the elderly Governor of The Bahamas, who tells 007 a sad tale about a relationship between a former civil servant stationed in Bermuda, Philip Masters, and an air hostess, Rhoda Llewellyn.
After meeting aboard a flight to London the two eventually married, but after a time Rhoda became unhappy with her life as a housewife. She then began a long open affair with the eldest son of a rich Bermudan family; as a result Masters's work deteriorated and he suffered a nervous breakdown. After recovering, the governor gave him a break from Bermuda and sent him on an assignment to Washington to negotiate fishing rights with the United States.
At the same time, the governor's wife had a talk with Rhoda just as her affair ended. Masters returns a few months later and decided to end their marriage, although he and Rhoda continued to appear as a happy couple in public for the sake of his job.
Masters returned alone to the United Kingdom, leaving a penniless Rhoda stranded in Bermuda, an act of which he'd have been incapable of performing merely a year or two previously. Masters never recovered emotionally, his vital spark was never relighted. The governor goes on to tell how after a time she married a rich Canadian and seems to be happy, telling Bond that the dull dinner companions, whom Bond found so boring, were her and her new husband.
While the story does not include action as other Fleming tales do, the ending shows Bond that his adventures pale in comparison with the real-life drama and he comes to understand that even the lives of people he passes somewhat superficial judgments upon, hide poignant episodes.

Characters in "Quantum of Solace"

• James Bond
• Rhoda Llewellyn
• Philip Masters
• Governor

克雷格將繼續扮演007