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
keep mum
to say nothing about a subject
保持沉默
It’s not official yet, so keep mum . 这还不是正式的，所以不要讲出去。
Mrs Obama, who was named America’s most admired woman for two years in a row, has so far kept mum on her presidential prospects. (sputniknews)
ferocious
adjective /fəˈroʊ.ʃəs/
frightening and violent
凶猛的，凶恶的；激烈的；可怕的 (Cambridge)
SAN ANTONIO — She manages to keep busy by day — the garden needs tending, she sewed herself a new dress, she patrols the Web to see who’s delivering what — but the nights, Esther Reschman says, are ferocious. Darkness brings long hours of gloom. (The Washington Post)
microscopic
adjective /ˌmaɪ.krəˈskɑː.pɪk/ science specialized
very small and only able to be seen with a microscope
极小的；需要用显微镜才可看见的
microscopic algae 只有在显微镜下才看得见的藻类 (Cambridge)
At home in San Antonio for more than a month now, Reschman is the kind of wife and mother who takes pride in keeping it all together. “Every little thing, I’d solve it,” she said. But she’s running out of problems to solve in a situation controlled by microscopic, unseen forces. (The Washington Post)
bicker
verb [ I ] disapproving /ˈbɪk.ɚ/
to argue about things that are not important
（为小事）争吵，口角，斗嘴
Will you two stop bickering! 你们两个不要吵了！
They’re always bickering with each other about/over their personal problems. 他们总是为个人问题而争吵。(Cambridge)
Across the country, the homebound are finding ways to cope, creative sources of joy, or just mindless pursuits to make the days go by. They are also bickering with the kids, missing their parents, counting the Oreos left in the bag, counting the hours. . (The Washington Post)
tiff
noun [ C ] informal /tɪf/
a slight argument
口角，小争吵
Have you two had a lovers’ tiff? 你俩曾有过情侣间的口角吗？(Cambridge)
In Vermont, tension over what the virus has done to daily life is revealed in Josh Manheimer’s house as repeated tiffs over the dinner dishes. “I can’t get my family to stack the dishwasher correctly, despite individualized in-person training, PowerPoint presentations, and graphic comics,” quipped Manheimer, an advertising copywriter who has long worked from home — but not with his whole family there all day, every day. (The Washington Post)
togetherness
noun [ U ]/təˈɡeð.ɚ.nəs/
the pleasant feeling of being united with other people in friendship and understanding
和睦相处；团结友爱；亲密无间
War had given to the community a greater sense of togetherness. 战争给社区带来了一种更加亲密无间的感觉。(Cambridge)
The constant togetherness of the new life within four walls can feel like house arrest, or like a second honeymoon — or both in the same afternoon. The extended home stay is a novel experience for most people, and they are casting about for comparisons, for something to make this seem a touch more normal. (The Washington Post)
slip-up
noun [ C ]/ˈslɪp.ʌp/
a mistake or something that goes wrong 错误
Many critics, including within the Democratic party, have expressed uncertainty about Biden’s mental lucidness due to a flow of confusing slip-ups from the 77-year-old candidate.（sputniknews）