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）
death row
noun
mainly /ˌdeθ ˈroʊ/ on death row
in prison and waiting to be killed as a punishment for a crime
（死囚）等待受刑，将被处死 (Cambridge)
N.C. Supreme Court opens door for death row inmates to show racism swayed sentencing. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Friday to give two black men on death row the chance to downgrade their sentences by proving that racism played an outsized role during court deliberations.
chest-thumping
noun [ U ] usually disapproving /ˈtʃestˌθʌm.pɪŋ/
conduct or expression marked by pompous or arrogant self-assertion ； behaviour, especially by a man, that is intended to show how powerful and strong someone is
原意指拍胸脯,可引申为自夸、夸夸其谈、无头脑的虚张声势、空头许诺等等（Baidu）
“Many fellow Republicans — and Democrats burned by hopeful economic messaging a decade ago — view the coming months with far greater caution, warning about a chest-thumping declaration of victory.” (Politico)
ethos
noun [ S ]/ˈiː.θɑːs/
the set of beliefs, ideas, etc. about the social behaviour and relationships of a person or group
（个人或团体的）精神特质，价值观，信条
“But beyond illustrating Trump’s counter punching ethos, it’s a pattern that raises serious questions about his ability to fill some of the most important posts in government and why he continually hires top officials he later comes to describe as incompetents.” (Washington Post)
flunk
/flʌŋk/ verb informal North American
fail to reach the required standard in (an examination, test, or course of study).
未通过（考试）；（课程）不及格
Students and teachers flunked remote learning. With the school year winding down, the grade from teachers, students, parents and administrators is in for America’s involuntary crash course on remote learning: It was a failure, the Wall Street Journal reports.
take a hit
To suffer heavy losses or be badly affected (by something).
受到承重打击；损失巨大
Unfortunately, the bad reputation the country has garnered in the past year due to the violence and unrest has meant that its tourism industry, upon which much of the economy depends, has taken a hit.
US image takes a hit as world reacts to Floyd protests. American diplomats are facing a tough challenge defending U.S. values as violent clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters dominate headlines around the world.
beg off 请求不做…
1) intransitive verb
to ask to be excused from something
2) transitive verb
to ask or gain permission to be excused from
Merkel cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as a chief reason for begging off from an in-person gathering of the world’s richest, most powerful democracies. But officials familiar with the discussions also said she worried about leaders being used as a photo-op by Trump to show him getting the world back to business following the health lockdowns.
follow-through
noun [ C or U ]/ˈfɑːl.oʊ.θruː/
the action of completing something
完成（某事的）行动; 够贯彻到底
Trump’s withdrawal plan appeared to be less a form of direct retribution for Merkel’s G7 decision, but rather a follow-through on previous threats to reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany, which were conveyed by the U.S. ambassador, Ric Grenell, as part of the overall White House criticism of Berlin’s military spending as too meager.
