【正文】 to stand taller in the world faces one significant . made handicap: brutal cutbacks in funding American foreign policy. (TIME, , 1996, )克林頓總統(tǒng)雄心勃勃，想在世界舞臺上更加昂首闊步，卻面臨美國自己制造出來的一個重大障礙：國會不會留情面，刪減了美國外交經(jīng)費。sluggish [ˋsl?ɡ??] adj. 遲緩的，不景氣的The Parisbased OECD predicted a sluggish rate of growth in 1994 for the G7 leading industrialized countries. (TIME, , 1994, )總部設(shè)在巴黎的經(jīng)濟合作開發(fā)組織預(yù)測，1994年七大工業(yè)國的經(jīng)濟增長率會趨于遲緩。sophisticated [s?ˋf?st??ket?d] adj. 1. (技術(shù)、產(chǎn)品)尖端的，先進的；2. （人）老于世故的；3. （人）精通的、老練的【同】1. advanced 2. refined 【反】unsophisticatedOnce the calling of wildeye Cassandras and 19th century writers and social scientists on the radical fringe, longrange forecasting has bee a sophisticated and quite profitable industry.(TIME, July 15, 1996, )這種“長遠預(yù)測”的工作，從前專屬于眼神狂亂的預(yù)言家，在19世紀(jì)是激進的非主流作家和社會學(xué)家，如今則成為先進工業(yè)，而且利潤相當(dāng)高。█ calling n. 職業(yè)；Cassandra對兇事提出預(yù)警，但不見信于人者。Cassandra為希臘神話中特洛伊國王之女，阿波羅為取得她的芳心，賦予她預(yù)言的能力，后來因求愛不遂又下令人們不準(zhǔn)信其預(yù)言；fringe n. （處于）邊緣，遠離核心的位置，較不受重視的地位staggering [ˋst230。ɡ?r??] adj. 令人驚愕的 【同】astoundingThe Pope’s literary output is staggering. His letters, sermons and speeches fill nearly 150 volumes.(TIME, , 1996, )教皇的著作多得令人吃驚，信件、布道詞、演講共計近150卷。strapped (for cash) [ˋstr230。pt] adj. 身無分文的，阮囊羞澀的Because of reduced oil prices and Gulf War debt, Saudi Arabia is so strapped for cash that it barely met the deadline for its latest $375 million payment on its . weapons contracts.(TIME, , 1994, )由于油價下跌，加上海灣戰(zhàn)爭時所背負的債務(wù)，沙特阿拉伯已是國庫空虛，幾乎無力按照與美國簽訂的武器購買合同。subject (to) [ˋs?bd??kt] adj. 受……支配的，受……影響的Offers of assistance from 60 countries, the . and the World Health Organization poured in. Some were subject to endless bureaucratic wrangling. (TIME, , 1995, )來自60個國家、聯(lián)合國、世界衛(wèi)生組織的援助大量涌入，但有些援助卻受制于該國官場里無窮無盡的爭執(zhí)。█ wrangling n. 爭論、爭執(zhí)substantial [s?bˋst230。n??l] adj. 大量的，重大的【同】significant 【反】insubstantial In 1994, when he was 23, he plowed his substantial savings into creating WARP, to develop and publish video games. (TIME, Apr. 14, 1997, )1994年他23歲時，他投入大筆的積蓄創(chuàng)立了WARP公司，用以開發(fā)發(fā)行電腦游戲。█ to plow into: 投（資本）入subtle [ˋs?tl] adj. 隱晦的，不明顯的，難以捉摸的 【反】blatant obviousEven when it seems beyond the reach of any one government, electronic information can be controlled, in ways both subtle and obvious. (TIME, , 1996, )表面上看來電子資訊好像任何政府都管不了，其實還是可以控制，控制的手法有些隱蔽，有些則很明顯。sweeping [swip??] adj. 全面的，大規(guī)模的，影響深遠的 【同】farreachingA House submittee…will vote next week on the SmokeFree Environment Act, perhaps the most sweeping antismoking legislation Congress has ever seriously considered.(TIME, , 1994, )眾議院一分組委員會將于下周就《無煙害環(huán)境法案》進行投票，這項法案是國會有史以來最看重的禁煙法案，也可能是最全面的禁煙法案。tangible [ˋt230。nd??bl] adj. 可觸到的，有形的In fact, pared with more tangible assaults on the President’s character—namely Paula Jones’ pending sexualharassment lawsuit and the federal investigation into Whitewater—words in a book can barely hurt him. (TIME, , 1995, )事實上，比起那些對總統(tǒng)人格更具體的抨擊——如寶拉瓊斯所提、正審理中的性騷擾案和聯(lián)邦著手調(diào)查的白水案——一本書的用詞對他幾乎不具殺傷力。thriving [ˋθra?v??] adj. 興盛的Most countries offer few opportunities for female soccer players, but Norway has a thriving women’s professional league, and the . a burgeoning coed youth soccer movement.(TIME, June 3, 1996, )大部分國家的女足隊員比賽機會不多，但挪威有蓬勃的女足職業(yè)聯(lián)盟，而美國的青年男女混合足球運動正快速發(fā)展。█ coed adj. 男女皆收的，為coeducational之略tremendous [tr?ˋm?nd?s] adj. 巨大的 【同】enormousSome 65 million years ago, a et or asteroid at least five miles wide struck the earth and blasted out a tremendous crater. (TIME, , 1995, )大約6500萬年前，一顆寬至少5英里的彗星或小行星撞上了地球，并在地表炸出了一個大洞。tricky [ˋtr?k?] adj. 棘手的 【同】awkwardGetting in and out of the fast lanes is always tricky even today. It will be even trickier when you have to change lanes and hand off control to the puter at the same time.(TIME, , 1996, )即使在今天，進出快車道仍然需要技巧；更棘手的是，變換車道的同時還得把車子的控制權(quán)交給電腦。unanimous [juˋn230。n?m?s] adj. 意見一致的The 1993 Supreme Court decision was not unanimous. (TIME, , 1995, )1993年最高法院的判決并非在各大法官意見一致的情況下做出。unprecedented [?nˋpr?s??d?nt?d] adj. 史無前例的In an unprecedented move, Zedillo chose a member of the opposition party as Attorney General.(TIME, May 29, 1995, )塞迪約破天荒挑選了一位反對黨人士出任司法部長。urgent [ˋ?d??nt] adj. 緊急的 【同】pressingAll this suggests that sumo, the institution, is in urgent need of its of its own purification.(TIME, , 1996, )這一切都表示，相撲界自清迫在眉睫。venerable [ˋv?n?r?bl] adj. 受人尊敬的You could almost say this venerable institution with its great credibility and history has been infiltrated slowly by the type of people it was not intended to deal with.(TIME, , 1994, )甚至可以這么說，這個極受信賴、擁有光榮歷史而備受尊重的機構(gòu)，已遭到它所不愿與之打交道之流人物的慢慢滲入。█ infiltrate v. 使?jié)B入，滲透vigorous [ˋv?ɡ?r?s] adj. 精力旺盛的，充滿活力的 【同】dynamicIt’s a signal as well that the . economy may be starting to slacken after one of its most vigorous years in a decade. (TIME, , 1995, )這也顯示，美國經(jīng)濟在經(jīng)歷10年來相當(dāng)繁榮的一年之后，可能正開始衰退。█ slacken v. 減緩，減弱volatile [ˋvɑl?n?t?r?] adj. 善變的 【同】unstableWhen properly bined, three volatile elements generate American celebrity: the media, the public and the spinmeisters who manipulate them. (TIME, June 26, 1995, )下面這3個善變的因素，如果搭配得好，就可以讓人在美國名聲大噪，這3個因素就是媒體、公眾及操縱媒體與公眾的形象包裝高手。█ spinmeister n. spin和meister的復(fù)合字。spin指（對某著作、政策、形式或事件）給予新的解讀或扭曲（以營造對作者或政治人物有利的局面，如良好的公眾形象）；meister是德文，同英文的master（高手、能手）。兩個字合起來就是指善于利用媒體以塑造良好公眾形象的人，類似spin doctor（指黨對媒體的發(fā)言人，替政治人物等處理媒體問題的顧問）。voluntary [ˋvɑl?n?t?r?] adj. 志愿的，自愿的 【反】obligatoryIt has been 16 months since Australia’s Northern Territory became the first place in the world to legalize voluntary euthanasia. (TIME, , 1996, )自從澳大利亞的北方區(qū)成為世界上第一個將自愿安樂死合法化的地方，至今已有16個月了。vulnerable [ˋv?ln?r?bl] adj. 易受傷的，脆弱的The long time lag between the weapons’ arrival and the Bosnians’ training would leave them extremely vulnerable to snap Serb offensives… (TIME, , 1994, )在武器運達之后和波斯尼亞人受訓(xùn)練熟悉裝備之前，有一段長長的空擋，這期間他們根本經(jīng)不起塞爾維亞人的突襲。█ lag n. （時間之間的）空擋