以下詞匯與例證摘錄自熱銷中的《中高級英語考試詞匯捷徑》(上海遠東出版社，
2003)

1. arachnid n. a member of the family Arachnida, which principally
includes animals with four pairs of legs and no antennae, such as spiders,
scorpions, mites, and ticks 蛛形綱動物(諸如蜘蛛、蝎子、螨、蜱) My interest
in arachnids began when I used to watch spiders build their gorgeous webs
in the corners of the porch. 我過去常常觀察蜘蛛在走廊的角落結網，其所結之網
甚為奇妙，我對蛛形綱動物的興趣油然而生。

2. bacchanalian adj.(The Roman god of drama, wine and ecstasy, Bacchus (巴
克斯) was the focus of a widespread celebration, the Bacchanalia, at which
there was wine in abundance and celebrants were expected to cut loose from
normal restraints and give in to all sorts of wild desires.) frenzied,
orgiastic; drunken 發(fā)狂似的，狂飲鬧宴的；縱酒的 The bacchanalian partying
on graduation night resulted in three wrecked cars, two lawsuits by
unamused parents, and more new experiences than most of the participants
could remember the next day. 畢業(yè)之夜的縱酒狂歡的聚會，導致3輛汽車被毀，家
長因不悅提出的訴訟兩起，還有許多為大多數(shù)參加聚會的人第二天就記不得的新名
堂。

3. behemoth n. (The behemoth is a mighty Biblical beast described in Job
40: 15-40) huge creature; something of monstrous size or power 巨獸；龐然大
物 Sportscasters nicknamed the linebacker “The Behemoth.” 體育節(jié)目廣播員
給那個(橄欖球)中后衛(wèi)起了個“巨獸”的綽號。

4. blatant adj. (coined by Edmund Spenser) extremely obvious; loudly
offensive 極明顯的；吵嚷的；刺眼的 Caught in a blatant lie, the scoundrel
had only one regret: he wished he had lied more subtly. 那無賴的彌天大謊被
當場拆穿，此時他只有一個懊悔：懊悔沒有把謊話說得巧妙些。

5. bowdlerize v. (The word immortalizes an English editor, Dr. Thomas
Bowdler, who produced a “family” edition (1818) of the works of
Shakespeare by removing every word or passage that offended his sense of
propriety.) to expurgate 刪節(jié)，刪改 After the film editors had bowdlerized
the language in the script, the motion picture’s rating was changed from
“R” to “PG”. 電影編輯把劇本中的不妥部分刪除后，該影片就由R級
(restricted：指17歲以下青少年除有家長陪同不得觀看——譯注)變?yōu)镻G級
(parental guidance (suggested)：宜在家長指導下觀看的——譯注)。

6. boycott v. (The word comes from C.C. Boycott, land agent ostracized by
his neighbors during the Land League agitation in Ireland in 1880.) to
refrain from buying or using 拒絕購買(或使用)；抵制 To put pressure on
grape growers to stop using pesticides that harmed the farm workers’
health, Cesar Chavez called for consumers to boycott grapes. 為了給葡萄種植
者施壓以迫使其停止使用危害農場工人健康的殺蟲劑，西澤·查維斯號召消費者拒絕
購買葡萄。 also n.

7． braggadocio n. (Braggadochio is a boastful character in Edmund
Spenser’s poem The Faerie Queen《仙后》.) boasting 自夸，吹牛 He was
disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio. 因為他總是自吹
自擂，狂妄自大，所以很受人討厭。
cf braggart n. boaster 自吹者，吹牛者 Modest by nature, she was no
braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves. 她天
性謙虛，從不自吹，喜歡以自己的成就來表明一切。

8. chauvinist n. (After Nicholas Chauvin, a devoted soldier and
overzealous supporter of `Napoleon Bonaparte) blindly devoted patriot;
zealous adherent of a group or cause 盲目的愛國主義者(一般譯為：沙文主義
者)；(某集團或事業(yè)的)狂熱的信徒 A chauvinist cannot recognize his faults
in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. Likewise, a male
chauvinist cannot recognize how biased he is in favor of his own sex, no
matter how flagrant that bias may be. 無論自己國家中的缺點有多么明顯，沙文
主義者對此一概視而不見。同樣地，無論對自己性別的偏袒有多么明顯，大男子主義
者對那種偏見也是視若無睹。

9. chimerical adj. (In Greek mythology Chimera (客邁拉) was a fire-
breathing monster, usually represented as having a lion’s head, a goat’s
body, and a serpent’s tail.) fantastically improbable; highly
unrealistic; imaginative 異想天開的；空想的；幻想的 As everyone expected,
Ted’s chimerical scheme to make a fortune by raising ermines in his
backyard proved a dismal failure. 不出大家所料，泰德想在后院飼養(yǎng)白鼬來發(fā)財
的荒誕不經的計劃以慘敗告終。 chimera n.

10. chortle v. (coined by Lewis Carroll, in Through the Looking Glass (《鏡
中世界》), prob. chuckle + snort) to chuckle with delight 咯咯地歡笑 When
she heard that her rival had just been jailed for embezzlement, she
chortled with joy. She was not a nice lady. 當她聽說對手因貪污而被監(jiān)禁時，
她開心得咯咯地笑。她是個幸災樂禍的女人。