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）
give sb the benefit of the doubt
to believe something good about someone, rather than something bad, when you have the possibility of doing either
把…往好处想
I didn’t know whether his story was true or not, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. 我不知道他说的是真是假，不过我决定姑且相信他这一次。（Cambridge）
A source at the trust said: ‘As we learn more about the disease, we are being much more careful about which patients are being considered for critical care. In normal times we will give most people the benefit of the doubt. That has changed. With this infection you need a couple of weeks on a ventilator, so with resources being used for such a long time, you have to be reasonably certain the person is going to get better. （Daily Mail）
cocoon
verb [ T usually passive ] /kəˈkuːn/
to protect someone or something from pain or an unpleasant situation
给…加上保护层，将…裹住
As a student you’re cocooned against/from the real world. 作为一名学生，你处在与现实世界隔离的环境之中。（Cambridge）
The US’ Northern Command has sent teams of essential staff deep underground to wait out the Covid-19 pandemic. On the surface, more than a million grunts won’t be quite as cocooned. （RT)
fiddle
verb /ˈfɪd.əl/ (CHEAT) informal
to act dishonestly in order to get something for yourself, or to change something dishonestly, especially to your advantage
（尤指为个人利益而）用诡计获得；篡改，伪造
She managed to fiddle a free trip to America. 她想办法骗取了一趟去美国的免费旅行。
He had been fiddling the accounts/books/finances for years. 多年来他一直在伪造账目／账簿／财务状况。(Cambridge)
Pelosi on Trump’s coronavirus response: ‘As the President fiddles, people are dying’. Washington (CNN)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying “his denial at the beginning was deadly” and that as he “fiddles, people are dying.”
tantamount
adjective formal /ˈtæn.t̬ə.maʊnt/
tantamount to sth
being almost the same or having the same effect as something, usually something bad
几近于；等于，相当于
Her refusal to answer was tantamount to an admission of guilt. 她拒绝回答等于是认罪。(Cambridge)
President Donald Trump has said he will not attempt to quarantine New York, after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the proposal to the limit the spread of coronavirus would be tantamount to a ‘federal declaration of war.’ (Daily Mail)
balk at
If you balk at something, you definitely do not want to do it or to let it happen.
如果你对balk at 事，你肯定是不想去做或让它发生； 犹豫不决
Even biology undergraduates may balk at animal experiments. [VERB + at]
Last October the bank balked, alarmed that a $24m profit had turned into a $20m deficit.
NY Gov. Cuomo balks at Trump’s talk of a tri-state lockdown. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday he does not believe President Donald Trump has the authority to impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey and parts of Connecticut to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Cuomo, in an interview with CNN, said that preventing people from moving in and out of the tri-state would amount to a federally imposed lockdown, which he believes is illegal. (CNBC)
