儒琴英语词汇选自欧美报刊文章以及英语原文小说。坚持学习英语今日词汇，有助于阅读和理解当今欧美主流媒体的新闻时事报道和英语文学作品。
儒琴英语词汇（English Words and Phrases of the Day）
pluses and minuses
the good and bad points of something; the advantages and disadvantages; the pros and cons
某事的优点和缺点;优点和缺点;利与弊:
She spent hours listing the pluses and minuses of each of the apartments she had looked at, trying to narrow down her choices.
ring-fence (also ring fence； ringfence)
verb & noun
1. to put (an amount of money) aside for a specific purpose；to guarantee the safety of funds or investment.
资金转款专用；资金不会被挪作他用的保证；确保一笔资金受到保护用于专门用途
2. to assign (something) to one particular purpose, so as to restrict its use
指定为某一特定目的，以限制其它使用；隔离
Microsoft is negotiating a transition period that will give it time to ringfence TikTok technologically from ByteDance after they agree to a deal, Reuters reported on Aug. 2. The clean break that Trump and lawmakers envision could take a year or more, some of the sources said. （Reuters）
staying power
noun [ U ]
If someone has staying power, that person always manage to continue doing what they have to do until it is finished.
持久力，耐力 （Cambridge）
The coronavirus pandemic has increased alcohol sales overall and hard seltzers are exploding in popularity and look to have staying power, boasting record high sales in recent weeks. (Axios)
throw down the gauntlet （or lay down the gauntlet ）
to invite someone to fight or compete with you
发出挑战
A price war looks likely now that a leading supermarket has thrown down the gauntlet to its competitors. 一场价格战似乎一触即发，因为一个龙头超级市场已经向对手们发出了挑战。(Cambridge)
Trump Lays Down the Gauntlet for William Barr.President Trump told Fox News that he hopes U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is investigating the origins of the Russia probe, is “not going to be politically correct” and warned that Attorney General William Barr could go down as “the greatest attorney general” or just “an average guy” — depending on what comes out of the monthslong probe. (Axios)
crank sth up
— phrasal verb with crank verb /kræŋk/ informal
to increase or improve something
增加；改善
crank up the volume/pressure 调高音量／增加压力
I just heard on the news he is cranking up his birtherism thing and aiming it at Kamala Harris … again. She was born in Oakland, California. I’m pretty sure that back in 1964 it was an actual state (since he does not seem to understand the concept of citizenship for territories). This is going to be a very tiresome 2.5 months. (TW)
