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）
rope someone in/into
persuade someone to take part in (an activity).
说服某人参加（一项活动）
synonyms:
persuade to/into · talk into · inveigle into · enlist · engage · drag in/into
US attempt to rope China into New START negotiations won’t succeed. The US hopes to take this opportunity to rope China into a new pact. Many US officials inside the Trump administration have suggested negotiating a new treaty that includes China, and perhaps other countries. Adding China to negotiations over limiting strategic weapons is their true purpose. — Global Times Feb 12, 2020
buck-passing
[ˈbəkˌpasiNG] informal
the practice of shifting the responsibility for something to someone else.
把对某事的责任推卸给别人的做法
Second, the US is paving the way for buck-passing. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the US in December 2019, where he stated that Moscow was ready to extend the New START as soon as possible. O’Brien’s February statement can be seen as a formal response. On the one hand, it shows US goodwill, but on the other, it may serve as an excuse once their negotiations break down. Washington’s unspoken words might be: The US agreed to talk, thus it’s not our fault if the negotiations fail. But if the US refused to even begin talks, it would certainly be universally condemned. — Global Times Feb 12, 2020
fizzle
verb [ I ]/ˈfɪz.əl/ mainly US
to gradually end
逐渐结束；逐渐破灭
Interest in the project fizzled after the funding was withdrawn. 撤资后，人们对此项目的兴趣逐渐丧失殆尽。（Cambridge）
“Trump has also wanted charges filed against Comey’s former deputy, Andrew McCabe. A separate inspector general investigation concluded that McCabe lied to investigators about his role in authorizing disclosures for a Wall Street Journal story in October 2016 about internal FBI tensions over an investigation of the Clinton Foundation. A grand jury in Washington seemed poised to make a decision on the case last year before fizzling into inaction.”
meet the eye / more than meets the eye
The expression more than meets the eye means involving more facts or nuances than one can see at first glance.
意味着涉及的事实或细微之处超过了人们乍一看所能看到的
Washington (CNN) – William Barr’s sharp public rebuke of Donald Trump’s legal meddling was an astonishingly rare show of dissent from a top Cabinet chieftain — but the attorney general’s record as the President’s protector suggests there may be more to the latest Washington mystery than first meets the eye.
fodder
noun [U] (USEFUL PEOPLE/THINGS)
people or things that are useful for the stated purpose
（为实现某目的）可利用的人（或物）；素材
Politicians are always good fodder for comedians (= they make jokes about them). 政客们往往是喜剧作家的好素材。 （Cambridge）
“Attorney General William Barr has assigned an outside prosecutor to scrutinize the criminal case against President Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn,” the New York Times reports.
“The review is highly unusual and could trigger more accusations of political interference by top Justice Department officials into the work of career prosecutors.”
Asha Rangappa: “This is simply insane. Barr is basically trying to systematically ‘undo’ the entire Mueller investigation. And it’s so Trump can have reelection fodder.”
draconian
adjective formal /drəˈkoʊ.ni.ən/
Draconian laws, government actions, etc. are extremely severe, or go further than what is right or necessary.
（法律、政府行为等）苛刻的，严厉的，严酷的 （Cambridge）
While the disease takes a fast-mounting toll and sparks increasing scenes of draconian control measures being enforced in mainland China, there have been only three deaths blamed on it elsewhere; one each in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The U.S. has 15 confirmed cases, but none are said to be suffering serious symptoms. — CBS News Feb 14, 2020
