《经济学家》读译参考：闭关锁国－历史学家纵论缅甸今昔(2)

[NOTES]（OXFORD）

　　1. benighted adj. unenlightened morally or intellectually; ignorant; backward 未开化的; 愚昧无知的; 落後的: benighted savages 未开化的野人.

　　2. grotesque adj. 1 strangely distorted so as to arouse fear or laughter; fantastic 因变得古怪而可怕或可笑的; 奇形怪状的: tribal dancers wearing grotesque masks 部落中戴着古怪面具的跳舞的人. 2 （art 美术） combining human, animal and plant forms in a fantastic design 奇异风格的（由人、动植物混合组成之图案的）. 3 ridiculously exaggerated or unreasonable; absurd 荒谬地夸张的或无理的; 荒唐的: a grotesque distortion of the truth 对事实的无理歪曲 * It's grotesque to expect a person of her experience to work for such little money. 想让有她那样经验的人为这点儿钱工作真是可笑. 4 offensively incongruous 捍格不入的; 极不协调的: the grotesque sight of an old man trying to flirt with a young girl 老头儿极力与少女调情那种离谱的样子.

　　3. plump v. （phr v） plump （oneself/sb/sth） down （cause sb/sth to） fall or drop suddenly and heavily （使某人[某物]）突然而重重地落下: plump down the heavy bags 把重袋子一下子放下 * plump （oneself） down in a chair 一*坐到椅子上. plump for sb/sth choose or vote for sb/sth with confidence 有信心地选择或选举某人[某事物]: The committee plumped for the most experienced candidate. 委员会很有把握地选择了那个最有经验的候选人. * The children plumped for a holiday by the sea. 孩子们特别想去海边度假.

　　4. bog v. （-gg-） （phr v） bog （sth） down （usu passive 通常用于被动语态） （a） （cause sth to） sink into mud or wet ground （使某物）陷入泥沼: The tank （got） bogged down in the mud. 坦克陷入泥沼之中. （b） （fig 比喻） （cause sth to） become stuck and unable to make progress （使某物）陷入困境不能前进: Our discussions got bogged down in irrelevant detail. 我们的讨论纠缠在无关紧要的细节上.

　　5. tangle v. 1 [I, Ip, Tn, Tn.p] ~ （sth） （up） （cause sth to） become twisted into a confused mass （使某物）乱作一团, 绞在一起: Her hair got all tangled up in the barbed wire fence. 她的头发让刺钢丝篱笆都给挂住了. 2 [Ipr] ~ with sb/sth become involved in a quarrel or fightwith sb/sth 与某人吵嘴或打架; 与某事有纠葛: I shouldn'ttangle with Peter —— he's bigger than you. 我不该与彼得纠缠——他比你块头大.

　　6. prism n. 1 solid geometric shape with ends that are parallel and of the same size and shape, and with sides that are parallelograms 棱柱（体）. 2 transparent object of this shape, usu triangular and made of glass, which breaks up ordinary light into the colours of the rainbow 棱柱体透明物; （通常指）棱镜, 三棱镜.

　　7. polemic n. fml 文） 1 （a） [C] ~ （against/in favour of sth/sb） speech, piece of writing, etc containing very forceful arguments （against or for sth/sb） （反对或赞成某事物[某人]的）慷慨陈词, 辩论文章: He launched into a fierce polemic against the government's policies. 他猛烈地抨击政府的政策. （b） [U] such speeches, pieces of writing, etc 慷慨陈词; 辩论文章: engage in polemic 进行辩论. 2 polemics [pl] art or practice of arguing a case formally and usu forcefully 辩论法; 争辩术.

　　8. blandishment n. （usu pl 通常作复数） （fml 文） flattering or coaxing words and actions 谄媚或哄骗的言语和行为: She resisted his blandishments. 她把他的甜言蜜语顶了回去.

　　9. coax v. [Tn, Tn.pr, Cn.t] 1 ~ sb （into/out of （doing） sth） persuade sb gently or gradually 劝诱或哄劝某人: He coaxed her into letting him take her to the cinema. 他哄得她同意带她去看电影. * She coaxed him out of his bad temper. 她循循善诱地劝他改掉坏脾气. * coax a child to take its medicine 哄小孩儿吃药 * （fig 比喻） coax a fire with （ie make it burn by adding） paraffin 加上煤油把火点着. 2 （phr v） coax sth outof/from sb obtain sth from sb by gentle persuasion 用好言好语劝说某人以得到某事物: I had to coax the information out of him. 我得用好话套出他掌握的情况. * She coaxed a smile from the baby. 她哄得婴儿一笑.

　　10. makeshift n, adj （thing that is） used temporarily until sth better is available （临时的）代用品; 权宜的; 临时凑合的: use an empty crate as a makeshift （table） 把一个空木箱当作临时的桌子.

　　11. technocrat n. expert inscience, engineering, etc, esp one who favours technocracy 技术专家; （尤指）专家政治论者.