2020年1月25日 星期六

give ground, retreat, ground rules, 'retreat one iota', stock-still, leap



Martha Nussbaum talked with The Nation Magazine about her recent book The Cosmopolitan Tradition: A Noble but Flawed Ideal and her thoughts on contemporary global politics.


Bank of Japan Fires in Two Directions at Once A2

The BOJ announced a policy that amounted to a retreat on unpopular monetary easing, pairing it with language suggesting no retreat was happening.

U.S. Interviews "Hostile" Bin Laden Widows


But the Pakistani-granted access comes with strict ground rules.




The president also hailed opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah's decision to pull out of the second round of the election as a "dignified retreat".

China Delays Rule on Web Filters
China postponed a plan to require personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software, retreating in the face of protests.



Billable Hours Giving Ground at Law Firms

The Wall Street Journal says that the success Gov. Sarah Palin has enjoyed this week in uniting the party's base, "liberated Sen. McCain to reach beyond those voters to Democrats and independents in his own speech." But it came at a price. "Delegates who repeatedly leaped to their feet Wednesday sat stock-still during long periods when McCain spoke," the LAT observes.



The director of the National Palace Museum here, the repository of the cream of the 1,000-year collection, plans to travel on Saturday to Beijing, the first official visit by a director of that museum to the mainland since the Nationalists lost China’s civil war to the Communists in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan.

Iran vows not to 'retreat one iota' in nuclear pursuit - CNN.com

The Iranian president scoffed Wednesday at a UN Security Council demand that the Islamic republic halt its uranium-enrichment program.


A Spirit-Friendly Retreat in the Catskills
A Spirit-Friendly Retreat in the CatskillsMonroe, N.Y. is a destination that combines history with the inner harmony an ashram can bring.

teak and ashram


retreat (POSITION)
verb
1 [I often + adverb or preposition] to go away from a place or person in order to escape from fighting or danger:
Attacks by enemy aircraft forced the tanks to retreat (from the city).
When she came towards me shouting, I retreated (behind my desk).

2 [I] to go to a quiet safe place in order to avoid a difficult situation:
When he's done something wrong, he retreats to his bedroom.

retreat 
noun
1 [C usually singularU] a move back by soldiers or an army, either because they have been defeated or in order to avoid fighting:
the retreat from Dunkirk
Enemy soldiers are now in (full) retreat.

2 [C] a private and safe place:
a country/mountain/lakeside retreat

3 [C or U] a period of time used to pray and study quietly, or to think carefully, away from normal activities and duties:
We went on (a) retreat at/to a monastery in Wales.

retreat (DECISION)
verb [I often + adverb or preposition]
to decide not to do something, or to stop believing something, because it causes too many problems:
The government is retreating from its promises.

retreat 
noun [C]
a change from previous beliefs or behaviour:
The professor's speech marked/signalled a retreat from his usual extreme views.iota 
noun [S]
an extremely small amount:
I haven't seen one iota of evidence to support his claim.

stock-still
adverb
without moving; completely still:
On seeing us, the deer stood stock-still for a moment, then turned and retreated into the forest.

leap (MOVEMENT)
verb [I + adverb or preposition] leapt or leapedleapt or leaped
to make a large jump or sudden movement, usually from one place to another:
He leapt out of his car and ran towards the house.
I leaped up to answer the phone
The dog leapt over the gate into the field.

leap
noun [C]
With one leap he crossed the stream.


give ground
Yield to a stronger force, retreat, as in He began to give ground on that point, although he didn't stop arguing entirely. This expression originated in the 1500s, when it alluded to a military force retreating and so giving up territory to the enemy. By the mid-1600s it was being used figuratively.


ground rules
n.
  1. Sports. A rule governing the playing of a game on a particular field, course, or court.
  2. A basic rule of procedure or behavior. Often used in the plural.




沒有留言: