2008年7月31日 星期四

mirage, pension, call on sth, call off

Calling on Gospel to Call Off Debt
Following the advice of their pastor, the men and women shuffled to the altar, cut up their credit cards and placed them near his feet.
(By Ovetta Wiggins, The Washington Post)







The prophet of pensions
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
Management guru Peter Drucker predicted in 1950 that unfunded pensions would turn out to be a "mirage." Workers at many failed companies later learned this ...



pension was found in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary at the entries listed below.


mirage
noun [C]
1 an image, produced by very hot air, of something which seems to be far away but does not really exist

2 LITERARY a hope or desire that has no chance of being achieved:
Electoral victory is just a distant mirage.


call off


1. Summon away, restrain, as in Please call off your dog. [Early 1600s]
2. Cancel some plan or undertaking, as in She decided to call off their engagement, or In case of rain the picnic will be called off. [Late 1800s]


call sth off (ACTIVITY) phrasal verb [M]
to decide that a planned event, especially a sports event, will not happen, or to end an activity because it is no longer useful or possible:
Tomorrow's match has been called off because of the icy weather.
The police have called off the search for the missing child until dawn tomorrow.


call on sth (USE) phrasal verb FORMAL
to use something, especially a quality that you have, in order to achieve something:
She would have to call on all her strength if she was to survive the next few months.

call on sb
(ASK) phrasal verb [+ to infinitive]
to ask someone in a formal way to do something:
They're calling on all men and boys over the age of 14 to join the army.
FORMAL I now call on everyone to raise a glass to the happy couple.

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