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）
hive mind
noun [ C ] (also hivemind/hive-mind)
the opinions or thoughts of a group of people, especially internet users, considered together
群人的意见或想法，尤指因特网用户的意见
U.S. intelligence community is a living organism. Our country’s best and brightest make up the collective hive-mind. It relies on information from a vast network of sources, experts, and data collected and processed by the most advanced technology the world has ever seen. When failures occur, they are almost exclusively a failure of analysis and not a failure of collection. (nationalinterest)
laser-focused
simply means “pinpointed” or “sharply focused”; intensely paying attention to a single object, concept, person, or activity to the exclusion of everything else.
集中注意力于一个单一的物体、概念、人或活动而不顾其他一切。
Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “It will be laser-focused on ensuring that taxpayer money goes to workers paychecks and benefits and it will ensure that the federal response is based on the best possible science and guided by health experts — and that the money invested is not being exploited by profiteers and price gougers.” (Politico)
screeching halt
The definition of to come to a screeching halt in the dictionary is to stop suddenly, causing the brakes or tyres to produce a high-pitched sound. Other definition of to come to a screeching halt is to come to an end suddenly.
突然停下来，使刹车或轮胎发出尖锐的声音；嘎然而止
Even as the coronavirus crisis has brought most of the country to a screeching halt, President Trump has begun to turbocharge his administration’s efforts to slash business and other regulations, and to pursue other long-held policy goals, with consequences that are likely to outlive the pandemic.
turbocharge
verb [ T ] /ˈtɝː.boʊˌtʃɑːrdʒ/
1）to increase the power in an engine using a turbocharger (= a small turbine turned by waste gases that pushes the fuel and air mixture into the engine at a higher pressure.
2) to make something grow or increase at a faster rate than usual or to make something much more effective
涡轮增压; 使某物以比平常更快的速度增长或增长，或使某物更有效
Trump 2020 win could turbocharge US economy: Wall Street. The U.S. economy is in the midst of the longest-running expansion in its history and would likely see further upside if President Trump secured a second term.
snag
verb (GET) [ T ] US informal
to get or catch something by acting quickly
攫取，抓到
They’d have gone bust if they hadn’t snagged that contract from their rivals. 要不是他们从对手那儿抢到了合同，他们早就破产了。
It was a good hit, but Silverman snagged it for the final out of the inning. 这个球击得很好，但西尔弗曼还是一下子抓到了，使局中最后一人出局。(Cambridge)
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday predicted President Donald Trump will try to delay the 2020 presidential election in a ploy to snag a reelection victory.
kick back
— phrasal verb with kick verb informal
to stop doing things and relax
停下来，放松
What good is life if a guy can’t kick back and watch a good movie? 如果一个人不能放松下来看一部好电影，那还叫什么美好人生？(Cambridge)
Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” Biden said, according to a pool report of an online campaign event. “That’s the only way he thinks he can possibly win. (Politico)
sound sb out
— phrasal verb with sound verb
to discover informally what someone thinks or intends to do about a particular thing, so that you can be prepared or take suitable action
试探（某人）的看法，探（某人）的口风
Perhaps you could sound the chairwoman out before the meeting, to see which way she’s going to vote? 也许在开会之前你可以探探主席的口风，看她打算投哪一方的票？（Cambridge）
Macron sounds out French mayors in countdown to lockdown exit. French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday held a video conference with at least a dozen mayors to tackle the challenges surrounding the country’s gradual lockdown exit beginning on 11 May – in particular the reopening of nurseries and schools.
pare
verb [ T often + adv/prep ] /per/
to reduce something, especially by a large amount
（尤指大量地）削减，减少
The three-hour play has been pared (down/back) to two hours. 这出三个小时的戏被缩短成了两小时。(Cambridge)
“President Trump plans to pare back his coronavirus press conferences”, Axios reports. As soon as next week, he may stop appearing daily and make shorter appearances when he does.”
