2023年1月4日 星期三

to preserve its reserves, appeal, appealing, smother, cash reserves, security, blanket.The myth of the lone creative genius

European natural gas prices have fallen to levels last recorded before war started in Ukraine in February, as warmer weather helps the continent to preserve its reserves. https://on.ft.com/3Q1Ipqa

From Steve Jobs to Albert Einstein, it’s an appealing notion that brilliant individuals are behind the world’s most significant creative breakthroughs. But is it true?
DOCUMENTJOURNAL.COM
The myth of the lone creative genius
From Steve Jobs to Albert Einstein, it’s an appealing notion that brilliant individual


As other counties open up, China is repeatedly slamming on the brakes to smother even small clusters
ECONOMIST.COM
China’s virus exceptionalism is a gigantic gamble
It wants an effective reproduction number as close to zero as possi
The ancient Greeks smothered themselves in olive oil. Modern athletes have turned to "cupping" and brain enhancement

Cupping and "Halo" headsets
ECONOMIST.COM


Moody's Investors Service assigned a negative outlook to the creditworthiness of all local governments in the United States, the agency said Tuesday, the first time it had ever issued such a blanket report on municipalities.



China Orders Highest Alert for Olympics
By EDWARD WONG and KEITH BRADSHER
Chinese officials have thrown an almost smothering blanket of security across Beijing in preparation for the start of the Olympic Games on Friday.


Ford Posts an Unexpected Profit of $997 Million
By BILL VLASIC
The Ford Motor Company had its first profitable quarter in North America in over four years and said that, at least for now, it had stopped rapidly burning through its cash reserves.




Deutsche Post to get billion euro cash back
A European court in Luxembourg has ruled that the German state has to repay about one billion euros to the German logistics group Deutsche Post. The court overturned a European Commission decision concerning state aid. In June 2002, the European Commission had ordered Deutsche Post to reimburse some 900 million euros in state aid that Brussels deemed to be illegal. The company said on Tuesday that following its successful appeal of the decision, the German state will now repay this amount with interest to Deutsche Post.


The New York Times leads with a look at how appealing an initial rejection of Social Security disability claims can now take as long as three years. About two-thirds of those who are initially turned down get the decision reversed on appeal, but the long wait times leaves "hundreds of thousands of people in a kind of purgatory" waiting for a resolution while frequently facing mounting financial hardship.


preserve
/prɪˈzəːv/
查看下列字典提供的定義:
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Hunting
Food
verb
  1. 1.
    maintain (something) in its original or existing state.
    "all records of the past were zealously preserved"
    相似詞:
    conserve
    protect
    maintain
    care for
    take care of
    look after
    save
    safeguard
    keep
    相反詞:
    damage
    neglect
  2. 2.
    treat (food) to prevent its decomposition.
    "freezing and canning can be reliable methods of preserving foods"
    相似詞:
    conserve
    bottle
    tin
    can
    pot
    chill
    freeze
    freeze-dry
    quick-freeze
    dry
    desiccate
    dehydrate
    cure
    smoke
    kipper
    salt
    pickle
    marinate
    souse
    corn
    jelly
    candy
    embalm
    mummify
    相反詞:
    consume
    use
noun
  1. 1.
    a sweet food made with fruit preserved in sugar, such as jam or marmalade.
    "a jar of cherry preserve"
    相似詞:
    jam
    jelly
    marmalade
    conserve
    confection
    dulce
    confiture
  2. 2.
    a sphere of activity regarded as being reserved for a particular person or group.
    "the civil service became the preserve of the educated middle class"



Security blanket

Meaning

1. A small familiar blanket or other soft fabric item carried by a child for reassurance.
2. A form of harness for a baby's crib.
3. All-encompassing military and political security measures.

Origin

The term 'security blanket', also known as 'comfort blanket', was coined by Charles Shulz for his Peanuts cartoon strip. That's what most references will tell you. It's always a pleasure to swim against the tide and here's an opportunity. In fact, the term 'security blanket' wasn't coined by Charles Shulz for his Peanuts cartoon strip. The derivation of 'security blanket' involves a rather meandering tale, which goes like this:
Security blanketSecurity blankets were known to Americans in the 1920s and were at that date overblankets which were clipped into babies' cribs to stop the occupants falling out. The accompanying advert is from the New York newspaper The Republican Press, November 1925, advertising fasteners for such a blanket for 59 cents.
The tale now moves on to World War II. The term 'security blanket' was then used to refer to strict security measures that were taken to keep Allied military plans from falling into the hands of the Germans. The term was coined in that context by the US military while fighting in Europe. For example, this report from the Alabama newspaper The Dothan Eagle, September 1944:
Reports being issued at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's headquarters sometimes were as much as 48 hours behind the armies because of a security blanket thrown over the operations.
Incidentally, another article from the same page as the above is titled 'British Take Brussels', which is timely as this [28th December] is the only week of the year that the headline could be recycled. For those of a non-British persuasion, many in Britain pile their Christmas dinner plates with brussels sprouts with some enthusiasm but reject them with distaste for the rest of the year.
The emergence of the military use of 'security blanket' about twenty years after the use of the term in a domestic setting does suggest the possibility that those coining a new meaning for it were the babies that were tucked up under security blankets a generation earlier.
Security blanket - LinusNow we move on another step, to the use of the expression as 'a small familiar comforter for babies and toddlers'. Now we get to Charles Shulz, right? Not quite. Shulz drew the character Linus van Pelt with a comfort blanket in the Peanuts cartoon strip in June 1954. It wasn't until 1956, in Good Grief, More Peanuts, that the item was given a name by Linus:
"This is a 'security and happiness' blanket. All little kids carry them."
By that date the term had been in use elsewhere. The November 1954 issue of the California newspaper The Daily Review included this piece by a staff writer, under the name of 'Bev':
'Security blanket. My younger child is one year old. When she finds a fuzzy blanket or a fleecy coat she presses her cheek against it and sucks her thumb.'


appeal
(REQUEST) Show phonetics
verb [I] to make a serious or formal request, especially to the public, for money or help:

They're appealing for clothes and blankets to send to the devastated region.
The police are appealing to the public for any information about the missing girl.
I tried to appeal to (= ask for support based on) his sense of loyalty, stressing how good the company had been to him.
[+ to infinitive] Church leaders have appealed to the government to halt the war.


appeal 

noun [C]when a lot of people are asked to give money, information or help:
They're launching (= starting) an appeal to raise money for famine victims.
[+ to infinitive] The police have issued an appeal to the public to stay away from the centre of town at the weekend.
 
━━ v. 【法】控訴[上告]する ((to)); (武力・権威・世論・良心に)訴える, 哀願[哀訴]する ((to)); 感動させる, 気に入る ((to)).
appeal to the country (議会を解散して)政府の政策を世論に問う.
━━ n. 訴願; 【法】上訴, 控訴, 上告; (世論に)訴えること; 哀訴; 【スポーツ】アピール; 魅力.
make an appeal to …に訴える.
ap・peal・ing ━━ a. 人の胸を打つ.
ap・peal・ing・ly ad.
appeal play 【野】アピールプレー.
Court of Appeal (英国の)控訴院.
Court of Appeals (米国の)控訴裁判所.

 smother

 (smŭTH'ər) pronunciation

v., -ered, -er·ing, -ers.
v.tr.
    1. To suffocate (another).
    2. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion.
  1. To conceal, suppress, or hide: Management smothered the true facts of the case. We smothered our indignation and pressed onward.
  2. To cover thickly: smother chicken in sauce.
  3. To lavish a surfeit of a given emotion on (someone): The grandparents smothered the child with affection.
v.intr.
    1. To suffocate.
    2. To be extinguished.
  1. To be concealed or suppressed.
  2. To be surfeited with an emotion.
n.
Something, such as a dense cloud of smoke or dust, that smothers or tends to smother.

[Middle English smotheren, from smorther, dense smoke. See smolder.]




smother 

Pronunciation: /ˈsmʌðə/ 
VERB
[WITH OBJECT]
1Kill (someone) by covering their nose and mouth so that they suffocate:a teenage mum tried to smother her baby in hospital
1.1Make (someone) feel trapped and oppressed by acting in an overly protective manner towards them:it’s time for you to leave the house—she’ll smother you if you remain
2Extinguish (a fire) by covering it:use a fire blanket to smother a chip-pan fire
2.1Suppress (a feeling or action):she smothered a sigh
2.2(In sport) stop the motion of (the ball or a shot):the goalkeeper was able to smother the ball
3(smother someone/thing in/with) Cover someone or something entirely with:rich orange sorbets smothered in fluffy whipped cream
3.1Cook in a covered container:(as adjective smotheredsmothered fried chicken

security

Line breaks: se¦cur|ity
Pronunciation: /sɪˈkjʊərɪti, sɪˈkjɔːrɪti/

noun (plural securities)

  • 1 [mass noun] the state of being free from danger or threat: the system is designed to provide maximum security against toxic spills job security

  • 1.1the safety of a state or organization against criminal activity such as terrorism, theft, or espionage: a matter of national security

  • 1.2procedures followed or measures taken to ensure the security of a state or organization: amid tight security the presidents met in the Colombian resort

  • 1.3the state of feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety: this man could give her the emotional security she needed

  • 2a thing deposited or pledged as a guarantee of the fulfilment of an undertaking or the repayment of a loan, to be forfeited in case of default.

  • 3 (often securities) a certificate attesting credit, the ownership of stocks or bonds, or the right to ownership connected with tradable derivatives.

Phrases

on security of something
using something as a guarantee: strict conditions attached to loans made on security of goods remaining the property of the borrowers

Origin

late Middle English: from Old French securite or Latin securitas, from securus 'free from care' (see secure).

security
securities (複数形)
[名](複 -ties)
1 [U]安全, 無事;安全確保
national security
国家の安全
personal security
身の安全(⇒[名]5)
in security
無事に
leave the security of (one's home)
(自分の家という)安全な場所を離れる.
2 [U]安心感;((古))油断
Security is the greatest enemy.
((ことわざ)) 油断大敵.
3 [U][C](…からの)防衛, 防御, 防護;防衛[保護]手段((against, from ...));(犯罪者などの)監視, 監禁
What is the best security against theft
いちばんの盗難予防策は何ですか
The alarm system gives security against prowlers.
警報装置はどろぼうよけになる
under maximum security
もっとも厳重に監禁されて.
4 [U]警備部[課];警備会社.
5 [U][C]《法律》(借金などに対する)担保(物件), 抵当;借用書;保証人;保証金, 敷金;保証((for ...))
personal security
人的担保(⇒[名]1)
gostand] security for a person
人の保証人となる
asin] security for a loan
借金の担保として
borrow money on the security of one's house
家を担保に金を借りる.
6 ((通例-ties))(株式・社債などの)有価証券
a securities company
証券会社
a securities exchange
証券取引所
securities business
証券業
Securities and Investment Board
((英))証券投資委員会.
━━[形](国家の)安全保障の, 防衛に関する;(会社などの)保安の(ための)
a security firm
警備保障会社
the U.S. -Japan Security TreatyPact
日米安全保障条約.

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