張瑋芯的部落格

A Room With a View(1985)

Plot:

Class notes

1. radiance   (n.)  [ˋredjəns]

• Definition: a quality of brightness and happiness that can be seen on a person's face; a warm, soft light that shines from something
• e.g. Her face glowed with radiance.
• －radiate, radiant, radiation

2. see off

• Definition: to go somewhere such as a station or airport with someone in order to say goodbye to them; to make someone go away or leave a place, especially by chasing them; to deal successfully with someone or something, especially by defeating them easily
• e.g. Anne saw Terry off at the station.

3. go for a ride

• to drive or ride around for fun
• e.g. She’s going for a ride on her boyfriend’s new motorcycle.

4. swap  (v.) (n.)  [swɑp]

• Definition: to give something to someone and receive something in return; to replace (something) with something else
• e.g. He swapped his cupcake for a candy bar.

5. spinster  (n.)  [ˋspɪnstɚ]

• Definition: an unmarried woman who is past the usual age for marrying and is considered unlikely to marry
• e.g. He left his Montana ranch to his spinster sister.

6. brooding  (adj.)  [ˋbrudɪŋ]

• Definition: looking as if you are thinking and worrying about something
• e.g. There was a brooding expression in his dark eyes.
• － brood,broody

7. pension  (n.) (v.)  [ˋpɛnʃən]

• Definition: an amount of money that a company or the government pays to a person who is old or sick and no longer works; accommodations especially at a continental European hotel or boardinghouse;  to grant or pay a pension to; to dismiss or retire from service with a pension
• e.g. We will stay at the pension for three days.

8. in a muddle

• a state of especially mental confusion;  a confused mess
• e.g. He was in a muddle when he broke up with his girlfriend.

9. solicitor  (n.)  [səˋlɪsətɚ]

• a lawyer in Britain who assists people in legal matters and who can represent people in lower courts of law
• e.g. Solicitors will be arrested for trespassing.
• － solicitate, solicitation
• no solicitation: not welcome to persuade people into buying something

10. lawyer, attorney, solicitor

• The word lawyer is a generic and broad term that comprises both attorneys and solicitors but while an attorney pleads for his client in a law court, a solicitor is more in an advisory position.
• Attorney is a term that is more commonly used in US for a person who is trained in law and is qualified enough to represent the case of his client in a court of law.
• In UK, if you go to a lawyer with your case, he may refer you to a solicitor who is an expert in drawing up all the paperwork. The solicitor then gets a barrister to stand up in a court of law to represent your case which is the same duty fulfilled by an attorney in US.