The bubble may have already burst.
London Mansion Prices Fall 11.5%
London’s most expensive homes and apartments have slumped in value as the government’s stamp duty sales tax damps demand.
BLOOMBERG.COM
Princeton University 在 Class Day 2015 相簿中新增了 21 張相片 — 和 Folasade Runcie 及其他 10 人。
A rainy day moved Class Day into the Chapel but didn't put a damper on the tradition, complete with awards, laughter and keynote speech by director Christopher Nolan.
"Four days into the new less complacent United Kingdom, thank you Scotland for staying with us – even if it did dampen your independence dream. Believe me, we Mancs (and Geordies and Brummies etc) understand that dream. Perhaps it’s time for the English to have a referendum. But instead of asking whether we want independence from the UK, we should be asking whether we want independence from England" (via Comment is free)
I don’t want to be English
Simon Hattenstone: Scotland’s referendum forced me to confront my own identity and I didn’t like what I saw. Perhaps it’s time we English had a referendum on independence - from England
THEGUARDIAN.COM|由 SIMON HATTENSTONE 上傳
Young Japanese Women Vie for a Once-Scorned Job
Yuli Weeks for The New York Times
Eri Momoka is a single mother who turned her hostess career into a lucrative fashion business, where she designs and sells hostess clothing and often appears on television. More Photos >
TOKYO — The women who pour drinks in Japan’s sleek gentlemen’s clubs were once shunned because their duties were considered immodest: lavishing adoring (albeit nonsexual) attention on men for a hefty fee.
U.S. retail sales tumbled 1.1% last month as credit turmoil continued to hit auto sales, damping hopes for a rapid economic turnaround.
Physics makes things trickier still, causing different parts of the body to move at different speeds. Your skis or snowboard may be sliding along at a slow 10 m.p.h., but if you catch a tip or edge on something stationary, the rest of you plunges forward and accelerates. "The body acts as an inverted pendulum, so the upper body moves much faster than the lower body," says Shealy.
The Beijing authorities are taking a conciliatory stance on closer collaboration in art in the hope of improving their image on Taiwan, with the goal of dampening opposition to an eventual reunification on terms favorable to the mainland.
In Washington, a Split Over Regulation of Wall Street
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and STEPHEN LABATON
Congress and the Bush administration strongly disagree about whether the pendulum should swing back to tighter control.
pendulum
noun
1 [C] a device consisting of a weight on a stick or thread which moves from one side to the other, especially one which forms a part of some types of clocks:
The pendulum in the grandfather clock swung back and forth.
The spaceship's jets were fired periodically to dampen a side-to-side pendulum motion that had developed.
2 [S] a change, especially from one opinion to an opposite one:
As so often in education, the pendulum has swung back to the other extreme and testing is popular again.
2damp
verb
: to make (something) somewhat or slightly wet
: to make (something) less strong or active
verb
: to make (something) somewhat or slightly wet
: to make (something) less strong or active
Full Definition of DAMP
transitive verb
1
a : to affect with or as if with a noxious gas : choke
b : to diminish the activity or intensity of <damping down the causes of inflation> damp
s out compass oscillations>
transitive verb
1
a : to affect with or as if with a noxious gas : choke
b : to diminish the activity or intensity of <damping down the causes of inflation> damp
2
: dampen
intransitive verb
: to diminish progressively in vibration or oscillation
See damp defined for English-language learners
Examples of DAMP
- His hands were damped with sweat.
damp
his drive for success>damp Show phonetics- His hands were damped with sweat.
damp
adjective
slightly wet, especially in a way that is not pleasant or comfortable:
The grass is still damp.
This shirt still feels a bit damp.
It was a damp, misty morning.
damp
noun [U] UK
when something is slightly wet:
Is that a patch of damp on the wall?
The whole house smells of damp.
dampen
verb [T]
1 (ALSO damp) to make something slightly wet:
Rain had dampened the tent so we left it to dry in the afternoon sun.
2 to make feelings, especially of excitement or enjoyment, less strong:
Nothing you can say will dampen her enthusiasm.
I didn't want to dampen his spirits.
dampness Show phonetics
noun [U] (UK ALSO damp)
when something is slightly wet:
It's the dampness in the air that is bad for your lungs.
sleek
adj., sleek·er, sleek·est.
- Smooth and lustrous as if polished; glossy: brushed her hair until it was sleek.
- Well-groomed and neatly tailored.
- Healthy or well-fed; thriving.
- Polished or smooth in manner, especially in an unctuous way; slick.
- To make sleek; slick: sleeked his hair with pomade.
- To gloss over; conceal.
[Variant of SLICK.]
sleekly sleek'ly adv.sleekness sleek'ness n.
SYNONYMS sleek, glossy, satiny, silken, silky, slick. These adjectives mean having a smooth gleaming surface: sleek black fur; glossy auburn hair; satiny gardenia petals; silken butterfly wings; silky skin; slick otters.
dampen
Line breaks: damp¦en
Pronunciation: /ˈdamp(ə)n /
put a damper/dampener on sth to stop an occasion from being enjoyable:
Both the kids were ill while we were in Boston, so that rather put a damper on things.
くじくもの; 【楽】（ピアノの）響きどめ［ダンパー］; （弦楽器の）弱音器; （ストーブの）空気調節弁; （切手などの）湿し器; 興ざまし ((人, 物)).
put a damper on …の興をそぐ.A robust economy, an increasingly clear political landscape and promises of hefty state spending make Russian stocks an attractive bet, but any slowdown in the global economy could put a damper on that performance.
China's largest personal computer maker swung to a fiscal fourth quarter loss due to hefty restructuring charges and weak demand.
hefty
adj., -i·er, -i·est.
- Of considerable weight; heavy.
- Rugged and powerful. See synonyms at heavy.
- Informal. Of considerable size or amount: a hefty serving of mashed potatoes; received a hefty bonus.
heftiness heft'i·ness n.
