Useful Words and Expressions
set
out
1) start taking action or making plans
with the aim of 着手（做某事）
He set out to write a novel about the American Civil War.
The doctor set out to perform the operation.
2) set off, start a journey 启程，出发
They set out at six and hoped to arrive before dark.
He’ll set out for Shanghai next week.
比较
set about: 开始，着手（后接名词或动名词）
How did they set about the work?
When she got home, she set about cleaning the house
.注意
set aside 留出，拨出
set back 使后移；耽搁
set in 开始
set up 建立；创新纪录
set down 放下；记录
set against 衬托；置于旁边
2.
turn out
turn out
1) prove to be 证明是，结果是
Unexpectedly, the weather turned out pretty nice that day.
The marriage turned out (to be) a happy one.
We arrived at the place, and everything
turned out as described.
It turned out that the letter was a forgery (伪造的).
2) develop 生产；培养
The school has turned out some first-rate scholars.
The factory is now turning out a thousand cars a month.
注意
turn off 关
turn away 把（脸）转过去
turn in 呈出；交
turn against 使反对
turn into 把…变成
turn to 翻到；请求
happen
1) be or do by chance 碰巧，偶然
I happened to be there when the house caught fire.
She happened to pass by when they were talking about her.
It (so) happened that there was no one in the house.
As it happens, I have got a dictionary at hand.
There happened to be a policeman at the corner, so I asked him the way
2)
take place 发生
He went on eating his breakfast as though nothing
had happened.
3) happen to + n./pron. : befall; be the fate (不幸之事)临头
Accidents happen most often to those who are careless.
If anything happens to him, let me know immediately.
neat
1) clean and tidy, orderly 整洁的，有条理的
He was always neat in everything he did.
She keeps her office neat.
2) simple and effective 简洁的
There are no neat solutions to this problem.
efficient:
producing a desired effect with a minimum of effort效率高的（指以最少的努力取得最佳的效果）
She is more efficient than you; she could do more and better in a shorter
time.
The German telephone system is highly efficient.
比较 effective (有效的，生效的) 指能达到预期的效果或效果显著。efficient强调效率高和有能力，不浪费时间和精力。
The measures to develop the city have proved most effective.
This is a rather effective treatment for his hair loss.
He is a quick efficient worker.
efficiency 效率
It would improve our efficiency if we used more up-to-date
methods. 如果我们多采用一些现代化的方法，我们的效率就会提高。
quality
1) standard of goodness 质量
The quality of the service here has improved a lot.
2) a high standard of excellence 优质
It’s not easy to recruit teachers of quality. 要聘用到素质好的教师不容易。
quality-oriented education 素质教育
exam-dominated education 应试教育
3) special characteristic of something or somebody 才能；特性
He shows qualities of leadership. 他表现出领导才能。
Kindness is a human quality which everyone admires.
foundation:
the fact or principle on which something is based 基础；根基
The rumour had no foundation in fact.
lay a firm/solid/sound/strong foundation 打下坚实的基础
He laid the foundations of his success by studying
and working hard.
The building has a solid foundation.
比较 foundation, basis, base
foundation 既可指抽象的基础（基础，基本原则）也可指具体的地基，表示坚实的、稳固的基础结构。basis 指抽象的基础，也可指信念、议论的根据。base指建筑物或物体的根基、底座，也可指抽象的基础、根据。
The Christmas tree must have a base.
The subject supplies us with a good basis for discussion.
The building has a solid foundation.
You must lay a good foundation at the beginning.
project:
a piece of work; big plan 工程；项目
Have you ever heard of Hope Project ?
We are carrying out a new project.
look
around
1) examine one’s surroundings; consider the situation 观察一番；考虑一番
Don't make a hurried decision; look around well first.
2) look right and left 四处看看
I told the salesman I was looking around; I hadn’t decided what I wanted
to buy.
amaze:
fill with great surprise 使极为惊奇，使惊愕
Her knowledge amazes us.
He was amazed to find that she had got 100 marks.
She was amazed that he was only twenty.
He was amazed at / by the beauty of the girl.
It is amazing that he should give us such a reply.
amazement n. surprise 惊愕 / 喜
He looked at us in amazement.
To my amazement I came out first.
inspect
1) examine carefully 检查
You should inspect the car well before you buy it.
The ticket collector inspected every passenger’s ticket.
2) visit officially to see that rules obeyed or work
done properly 视察，检阅
Several leaders from the Ministry of Education came
to inspect Central China Normal University last week.
The visiting president inspected the troops.
as
a result: therefore 结果，因此
As a result, Wang Ying was given an excellent job.
I was caught in the rain on my way home. As a result I had a bad cold.
比较 as a result of (= because of ) 由于，表示原因，而as a
result表示结果。
As a result of my hard work, I got full marks in the English contest yesterday.
miss
1)
fail to see, hit, hold, catch, etc. 未看到，未击中，错过等
He fired but missed the target.
Hurry up, or you will miss the bus.
She missed her father in the crowded railway station.
He doesn’t want to miss seeing the film on television
tonight.
2)
realize and feel sorry about the absence of
All of us miss you. Come back as soon as you can.
3)
(usually in a continuous tense) lack, not
to be found 缺少的，找不到的
Our team is missing a guard.
My wallet is missing.
except
for: with the exception of 除……之外，只是
The skirt is OK except for the color.
比较 except
, except for, but for & besides
1)
except 与except for都指“除……之外，再不包括”，但except
指从整体中将个别特殊的排除出去，而except
for表示某种理由或细节，在一定程度上修正了前面句子所述的主要意思。另外except for可放在句首，而except一般不置于句首。
Everyone in our class has passed the exam except Mark.
The hat is good except for its big size.
2) except for和but for
都可表示“要不是”，但前者常和陈述语气连用；后者和虚拟语气连用。试比较：.
There will be a film show in the auditorium（礼堂）except for the important
report on the current situation.
But for your help, I could not have succeeded.
3) besides 除……之外，还包括……，与except相反。apart
from 既可指except
for也可指besides。
Many other students took part in the contest besides Mary.
It is good work apart from (=except for) a few slight faults.
Apart from (=besides) the fact that he drank too much, he was rude to his
wife.
relieve
1) lessen (pain, anxiety, or trouble) 减轻（痛苦、焦虑或困扰）
We telephoned to relieve our mother’s uneasiness.
His humorous remark relieved the tension in the room.
2) give variety to; make more interesting 调剂
I went for a walk to relieve the boredom of the day.
relieve sb. of sth. 解除某人的负担；解除（职务）
Let me relieve you of that heavy parcel.
She was relieved of her employment.
relieve one’s feelings 发泄感情
I relieved my feelings by throwing my shoes at the cat.
relief n. 解除，减轻
The medicine will give you some relief.
You’re safe! What a relief! 你没事了！谢天谢地！
dull
1) boring 乏味的
There’s never a dull moment when John comes to stay.
2) (of colour) not bright 暗淡的
Jane’s hair was a dull, darkish brown.
3) (of weather) cloudy; dark 阴沉的，阴暗的
It is dull today; we shall have rain.
4)
slow in understanding 迟钝的
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. （谚）只工作不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。
go
/ be on strike: refuse to work （举行）罢工
The workers decided to go on strike.
No buses are running today, as the drivers are on
strike.
absent-minded:
so concerned with one’s thoughts as not to notice what is happening or what
one is doing 心不在焉
The absent-minded boy threw his watch instead of the stone into the
river.
Because you were absent-minded, you made more mistakes than others.
注意
有些形容词或名词可与-minded构成复合词，词性仍为形容词，表示“有……心的，有……思想的；关心……的，重视……的”。例如：
narrow-minded 眼光短浅的
noble-minded 思想高尚的
strong-minded 意志坚强的
safety-minded 注意安全的
evil-minded 心术不正的
air-minded 关心航空事业的
negotiation-minded 倾向于举行谈判的
hold
up
1) delay, obstruct (often passive) 耽搁，拖延，阻滞（常用于被动语态）
We have been held up by fog.
The building of the road has been held up by bad weather.
2)
raise, keep up 举起，支撑
Hold up your right hand, please.
These three pillars (柱子) are holding
up the whole roof.
beyond
1) at the farther side of (of place); later than (of
time) 在……的那边（表示位置）；迟于，超过（表示时间）
The river is beyond the hill.
Don’t stay beyond midnight.
2) exceeding, out of reach of 超出，为…所不及
We succeeded beyond our hope. (= We were more successful than we had hoped
to be.)
The young men of the present day are beyond my comprehension.
3) except (in negative) 除……之外（常用于否定句）
I know nothing of it beyond what he told me.
4) at (to) the distance, father on 在远处，更远地
Your ball did not fall here, look beyond for it.
fire
1)
dismiss sb. from his job 解雇
Sam was fired for inefficiency.
The employer fired her because she was often absent-minded.
2)
shoot; discharge a gun 开火，射击
The police fired into the air to make the crowd break
up.
on fire: be burning 着火
One of the plane’s engines was on fire.
catch fire: start burning 着火
Will the house catch fire?
set…on fire / set fire to…: make…start to burn
点燃
Don’t barbecue (烤肉) in the wood---you might
set fire to the trees.
cover:
deal with, report the details of 论述，详细报道
I don’t think I can cover all the questions in my
talk.
The best reporters were sent to cover the Olympic
Games.
achieve
1) get by effort（经努力）达到
He often achieved high marks in English exams.
If he continues to be lazy, he will never achieve anything.
2) accomplish 完成，实现
All this cannot be achieved overnight.
decrease
1) (cause to) become less, smaller or shorter 减少，降低
The number of traffic accidents decreased last month.
We should make efforts to decrease military spending.
2）
decreasing (in number) 减少（额），减少（量）
There has been a decrease in our imports this year.
The demand for salt is on the decrease.
management
1) all those concerned in running an industry, business,
company, etc. 资方，管理人员
What this department store needs is a stronger management.
2) running 经营，管理
The new company is under Chinese-American joint management.
promotion
1)
a rise in position 晋升
He worked hard and won quick promotion.
After several drinks, John was bold enough to ask
for a promotion.
2)
an action to help sth. develop or succeed
促进
The most important purpose of a sports meet is not
competition, but promotion of friendship.
talk
over sth. (with sb.)
1) discuss sth. fully with sb. 商量，充分讨论
The boys settled their argument by talking over.
She wanted to talk it over with my parents before making the final decision.
2) talk round to persuade to change one’s opinion 说服某人
In the end I was able to talk the other committee members over, and
they agreed to vote in favor of the plan.
keep
up with
1) keep pace with 跟上，追赶上
To keep up with the times（跟上时代）, we
must try our best to learn as much as possible.
Wang Junxia ran so fast at the Asian Games（亚运会）that no one could
keep up with her.
2) keep informed 了解
We read newspapers every day to keep up with current
events. 我们天天看报，好了解时事。
compliment
1) an expression of praise, admiration or respect 恭维（话），赞词
Thank you for your compliment.
She said how nice my dress was, so I returned the compliment and said I liked
hers. 她称赞我的衣服好看，我便回敬说我也喜欢她的衣服。
2) (pl. compliments) good wishes 祝贺；问候（用于复数）
Give my compliments to your mother.
with the compliments of the author (= with the author’s compliments) 作者敬赠
with the compliments of the management 经营部门敬赠