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）
brass
people in authority or of high military rank.
大人物；高官；政府高官、民间企业的高级主管等都可以称为 big brass
Top White House brass now required to wear face masks. Jared Kushner and Adm. Brett Giroir, the federal official overseeing testing, wear masks at the White House during President Trump’s news conference Monday afternoon.
hardwired
adjective /hɑːrdˈwaɪɚd/
1) computing specialized
A computer or electronic device that is hardwired is built to work in a particular way and you cannot change the way it performs with new software, etc.
内建于硬盘的（某些电脑或电子产品的程序和功能已固定，无法用新软件变更）
2) informal
If someone or something is hardwired to do a particular thing, they automatically do it and cannot change that behaviour.
本能的（指不可改变的）
Humans are hardwired to love fattening foods. 人会本能地喜欢那些令人发胖的食物。
Social scientists have found that everyone is hardwired to pay attention to gossip, and to participate in it. In fact, it’s an evolutionary adaptation — it’s become human nature to spill the tea.
ahead of the pack/leading the pack/above the pack
phrase
You can say that someone is ahead of the pack or leading the pack , or above if they are ahead of everyone else in a race or competition.
成功领先；出类拔萃; 遥遥领先
The party may still finish ahead of the pack.
Europe has got used to following rather than leading the pack.
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the favorite among progressives, was also seen as rising above the pack.”
give (or lose) ground
phrase of ground
retreat or lose one’s advantage during a conflict or competition.
在冲突或竞争中失去优势。
Senate Republicans looking at polls showing GOP incumbents losing ground are concerned that President Trump’s handling of the pandemic has put their majority in danger.
call out
(CRITICIZE) informal
to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions
批评…；要求…解释
If he did anything wrong, I’d be the first to call him out on it. 如果他做错了什么，我会第一个批评他。(Cambridge)
Biden Calls Out Trump on Testing. Joe Biden launched a fresh line of attack against President Trump, writing in the Washington Post that the president is offering coronavirus tests to his staff while telling Americans that testing isn’t important.
handiwork
something that you have done or caused, usually something bad
（某人的）所为（通常指坏事）
“Is this your handiwork?” he asked, pointing at the graffiti on the wall. “这是你干的吧？”他指着墙上的涂鸦问道。
Having probed state voting systems far more extensively than that is generally understood by the public, they are now surely more capable of mayhem on Election Day – and possibly without leaving a detectable trace of their handiwork.
cavalier / flippant
adjective /ˌkæv.əlˈɪr/ /ˈflɪp.ənt/
not considering other people’s feelings or safety; not serious about a serious subject, in an attempt to be funny or to appear clever;
满不在乎的；漫不经心的; 轻率的；浮夸的
The two biggest criticisms of Trump that GOP lawmakers express privately are that his administration took too long to deploy coronavirus tests and that the president’s statements and demeanor have been too cavalier or flippant.
go bust
If a company goes bust, it is forced to close because it is financially unsuccessful.
破产
More than 20 companies in the district went bust during the last three months. 过去的3个月里这一地区有超过20家公司破产。(Cambridge)
Another major international airline has gone bust in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Avianca, one of Latin America’s largest airlines, files for bankruptcy. (CNN)
high-dollar
Involving large amounts of money; very expensive or profitable.
涉及大量金钱的;非常昂贵或有利可图
The president is also eager to resume political travel in June, including holding his signature rallies by the end of the summer in areas where there are few cases… Trump’s political team has begun discussions about organizing a high-dollar, in-person fundraiser next month, as well as preliminary planning about staging rallies and what sort of screenings might be necessary
shell-shocked
adjective
extremely tired and nervous or frightened, especially after an unpleasant and unexpected event, or extremely surprised
（尤指经历不愉快的意外事件后）极度疲惫而紧张（或惊恐）的；受极度惊吓的
After the crash, the passengers were shell-shocked but there were no serious injuries. 事故发生后，乘客都受到了极度惊吓，但没有人受重伤。
They were shell-shocked by the news. 他们被这条消息惊呆了。(Cambridge)
Some of Trump’s advisers described the president as glum and shell-shocked by his declining popularity. In private conversations, he has struggled to process how his fortunes suddenly changed from believing he was on a glide path to reelection to realizing that he is losing to the likely Democratic nominee, former vice president Joe Biden, in virtually every poll, including his own campaign’s internal surveys, advisers said.