GRE词汇(神话和历史)

以下词汇与例证摘录自热销中的《中高级英语考试词汇捷径》(上海远东出版社，
2003)

1. arachnid n. a member of the family Arachnida, which principally
includes animals with four pairs of legs and no antennae, such as spiders,
scorpions, mites, and ticks 蛛形纲动物(诸如蜘蛛、蝎子、螨、蜱) My interest
in arachnids began when I used to watch spiders build their gorgeous webs
in the corners of the porch. 我过去常常观察蜘蛛在走廊的角落结网，其所结之网
甚为奇妙，我对蛛形纲动物的兴趣油然而生。

2. bacchanalian adj.(The Roman god of drama, wine and ecstasy, Bacchus (巴
克斯) was the focus of a widespread celebration, the Bacchanalia, at which
there was wine in abundance and celebrants were expected to cut loose from
normal restraints and give in to all sorts of wild desires.) frenzied,
orgiastic; drunken 发狂似的，狂饮闹宴的；纵酒的 The bacchanalian partying
on graduation night resulted in three wrecked cars, two lawsuits by
unamused parents, and more new experiences than most of the participants
could remember the next day. 毕业之夜的纵酒狂欢的聚会，导致3辆汽车被毁，家
长因不悦提出的诉讼两起，还有许多为大多数参加聚会的人第二天就记不得的新名
堂。

3. behemoth n. (The behemoth is a mighty Biblical beast described in Job
40: 15-40) huge creature; something of monstrous size or power 巨兽；庞然大
物 Sportscasters nicknamed the linebacker “The Behemoth.” 体育节目广播员
给那个(橄榄球)中后卫起了个“巨兽”的绰号。

4. blatant adj. (coined by Edmund Spenser) extremely obvious; loudly
offensive 极明显的；吵嚷的；刺眼的 Caught in a blatant lie, the scoundrel
had only one regret: he wished he had lied more subtly. 那无赖的弥天大谎被
当场拆穿，此时他只有一个懊悔：懊悔没有把谎话说得巧妙些。

5. bowdlerize v. (The word immortalizes an English editor, Dr. Thomas
Bowdler, who produced a “family” edition (1818) of the works of
Shakespeare by removing every word or passage that offended his sense of
propriety.) to expurgate 删节，删改 After the film editors had bowdlerized
the language in the script, the motion picture’s rating was changed from
“R” to “PG”. 电影编辑把剧本中的不妥部分删除后，该影片就由R级
(restricted：指17岁以下青少年除有家长陪同不得观看——译注)变为PG级
(parental guidance (suggested)：宜在家长指导下观看的——译注)。

6. boycott v. (The word comes from C.C. Boycott, land agent ostracized by
his neighbors during the Land League agitation in Ireland in 1880.) to
refrain from buying or using 拒绝购买(或使用)；抵制 To put pressure on
grape growers to stop using pesticides that harmed the farm workers’
health, Cesar Chavez called for consumers to boycott grapes. 为了给葡萄种植
者施压以迫使其停止使用危害农场工人健康的杀虫剂，西泽·查维斯号召消费者拒绝
购买葡萄。 also n.

7． braggadocio n. (Braggadochio is a boastful character in Edmund
Spenser’s poem The Faerie Queen《仙后》.) boasting 自夸，吹牛 He was
disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio. 因为他总是自吹
自擂，狂妄自大，所以很受人讨厌。
cf braggart n. boaster 自吹者，吹牛者 Modest by nature, she was no
braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves. 她天
性谦虚，从不自吹，喜欢以自己的成就来表明一切。

8. chauvinist n. (After Nicholas Chauvin, a devoted soldier and
overzealous supporter of `Napoleon Bonaparte) blindly devoted patriot;
zealous adherent of a group or cause 盲目的爱国主义者(一般译为：沙文主义
者)；(某集团或事业的)狂热的信徒 A chauvinist cannot recognize his faults
in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. Likewise, a male
chauvinist cannot recognize how biased he is in favor of his own sex, no
matter how flagrant that bias may be. 无论自己国家中的缺点有多么明显，沙文
主义者对此一概视而不见。同样地，无论对自己性别的偏袒有多么明显，大男子主义
者对那种偏见也是视若无睹。

9. chimerical adj. (In Greek mythology Chimera (客迈拉) was a fire-
breathing monster, usually represented as having a lion’s head, a goat’s
body, and a serpent’s tail.) fantastically improbable; highly
unrealistic; imaginative 异想天开的；空想的；幻想的 As everyone expected,
Ted’s chimerical scheme to make a fortune by raising ermines in his
backyard proved a dismal failure. 不出大家所料，泰德想在后院饲养白鼬来发财
的荒诞不经的计划以惨败告终。 chimera n.

10. chortle v. (coined by Lewis Carroll, in Through the Looking Glass (《镜
中世界》), prob. chuckle + snort) to chuckle with delight 咯咯地欢笑 When
she heard that her rival had just been jailed for embezzlement, she
chortled with joy. She was not a nice lady. 当她听说对手因贪污而被监禁时，
她开心得咯咯地笑。她是个幸灾乐祸的女人。