儒琴今日英语单词选自日常用语，欧美报刊文章, 以及英语原文小说。每天坚持学习今日英语单词，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；增强日常英语交流能力。
儒琴今日英语单词 Word of the Day
bravura
noun [ U ]/brəˈvjʊr.ə/
解释：
great technical skill and brilliance shown in a performance or activity.
雄心勃勃的举动; 精湛的技巧;；出色的表演；大胆的行为
举例：
Putin’s bravura performance at a 2018 news conference with Donald Trump led to shock when the then U.S. president cast doubt on the findings of his own intelligence agencies and flattered the Russian leader. （reuters/June 12, 2021）
joust
verb [ I ]/dʒaʊst/
解释：
to compete, especially for power or control
(尤指作为正式或公开辩论一部分的)辩论，讨论，争论; （为权力或控制而）竞争
举例：
Talking about the summit alone will also spare Biden, 78, from open jousting with Putin, 68, before the world’s media after what is certain to be a combative encounter. （reuters/June 12, 2021）
ransomware
noun [ U ]/ˈræn.səm.wer/
解释：
a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid.
勒索软件；勒索病毒（malware）
举例：
The White House has said Biden will bring up ransomware attacks emanating from Russia, Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine, the jailing of dissidents and other issues that have irritated the relationship. （reuters/June 12, 2021）
paramilitary
adjective /ˌper.əˈmɪl.ə.ter.i/
解释：
A paramilitary group is organized like an army but is not official and often not legal； (of an unofficial force) organized similarly to a military force.
准军事的；准军事组织是一种半军事化的力量，其组织结构、战术、训练、亚文化和功能类似于专业军队，但不是一个国家武装力量的正式组成部分。
举例：
That agreement largely brought an end to the “Troubles” – three decades of conflict between Irish Catholic nationalist militants and pro-British Protestant “loyalist” paramilitaries in which 3,600 people were killed. （reuters/June 12, 2021）
sea legs
noun [ plural ] /ˈsiː ˌleɡz/
解释：
a person’s ability to keep their balance and not feel seasick when on board a moving ship；a person’s ability to keep their balance while walking on a moving ship and to not be ill.
不晕船的能力; 一个人在移动的船上保持平衡而不晕船的能力
举例：
For now though, the group could relax and gain their sea legs. There was luminous sunshine that first day and Guldner set himself up on deck. （ CNN/ 12th May 2021）
take the edge off sth
解释：
reduce the intensity or effect of (something unpleasant or severe)；to make something unpleasant have less of an effect on someone
减弱，削弱（不良事物的影响）
举例：
Life on board the Albatros was sociable and relaxing, although somewhat at the mercy of the elements. Each traveler took turns to do a night watch, and the group shared the cooking and cleaning. Evenings were spent drinking beer and hanging out on deck, the sunshine taking the edge off the cool Baltic air. （ CNN/ 12th May 2021）
tiptoe around sth/sb
— phrasal verb with tiptoe verb [ I usually + adv/prep ]
informal ( UK also tiptoe round sth/sb)
解释：
to avoid dealing with a difficult subject, problem, or person；to avoid talking about (something) ； to talk about (something) only in an indirect way
回避（难应付的话题、问题或人）
举例：
His successor Joe Biden used his elbows differently this week. Arriving to his first global summit, he crooked his arm to extend pandemic-era greetings to a group of leaders who no longer have to tiptoe around a truculent and often angry American president. （CNN /June 12, 2021 ）
pit sb/sth against sb/sth
— phrasal verb with pit verb [ T ]
解释：
to cause one person, group, or thing to fight against or be in competition with another；to cause (someone or something) to fight or compete against (another person or thing)
使相斗；使竞争；使较量
举例：
The disagreements, aired during a session that at one point became so sensitive that all internet was shut off to the room, pitted European nations against the United States, Britain and Canada, who urged stronger action against China…（CNN /June 12, 2021 ）
box-checking
解释：
The idea is that a person with such an approach does not have any real personal interest in the overall quality of the work he or she is performing, but simply checks off, one-by-one, the requirements set out on a list prepared by somebody else once each of these requirements has been met to a minimum standard — without much thought to the overall quality of the task. （wordreference.com）
按图索骥；官僚橡皮图章；做表面文章
举例：
The senior administration official said Biden doesn’t view these summits as just box-checking events, but more of an opportunity to move forward and make progress when it comes to substance and challenges. （CNN /June 12, 2021 ）
optics
解释：
North American(typically in a political context) the way in which an event or course of action is perceived by the public.
(通常指政治用语) 公众对某事件或行动的看法
举例：
At least in tone and optics, this weekend’s G7 is starkly different from those held in Italy, Canada and France during the years Trump was in office. （CNN /June 12, 2021 ）
oncology
noun [ U ]/ɑːnˈkɑː.lə.dʒi/
解释：
the study and treatment of tumors； the study and treatment of tumours (= masses of cells) in the body
肿瘤学
举例：
In more recent years, the family have enjoyed traveling the world together. Erickson, who now works as an oncology dietician, and Guldner, who is still an engineer, have visited everywhere from Morocco to Turkmenistan with their two children, who are now teenagers, in tow. （ CNN/ 12th May 2021）
