4-1
VOR comes from the Latin verb vorare, 「to eat,」 and the ending -ivorous shows up in words that refer to eaters of certain kinds of food. Frugivorous (for 「fruit-eating」), granivorous (for 「grain- eating」), and graminivorous (for 「grass-eating」) aren't too rare, but you won't run across phytosuccivorous (「plant-sap-eating」) every day.
carnivorous Meat-eating or flesh-eating. /kɑːrˈnɪvərəs/ adj. 食肉的；肉食性的
• He'd gotten tired of his vegetarian guinea pigs and decided he preferred carnivorous pets such as ferrets.
The order of mammals that Linnaeus named the Carnivora includes such families as the dogs, the bears, the raccoons, the weasels, the hyenas, the cats, and the seals. Most carnivores eat only meat in the wild, but some have varied diets; some bears, for instance, normally eat far more vegetation than meat. Carnivores have powerful jaws and complex teeth, and most are highly intelligent. Humans, like their ape cousins, are basically omnivores (see omnivore).
herbivorous Plant-eating. /ɜːrˈbɪvərəs,hɜːrˈbɪvərəs/ adj. [動] 食草的
• In spite of their frightening appearance, marine iguanas are peaceable herbivorous animals that feed mostly on seaweed.
Many herbivorous animals, such as rabbits, deer, sheep, and cows, are noted for their gentle and passive ways. But such behavior is not universal among herbivores. Rhinoceroses and elephants, for instance, are capable of inflicting serious damage if threatened, and among dinosaurs, the herbivorous Diplodocus had a thick tail that could be used as a lethal weapon against attacking carnivores. Herbivorous humans are usually called vegetarians.
insectivorous Feeding on insects. /ˌɪnsekˈtɪvərəs/ adj. [動] 食蟲的，以蟲類為食的；食蟲動植物的
• Their rather odd 12-year-old son kept insectivorous plants in his bedroom and fed them live flies.
A wide variety of animals could be called insectivores—most of the birds, for example, as well as the spiders. Of the amphibians, frogs and many lizards are largely insectivorous. Even some fish get much of their food from insects. The order of mammals called Insectivora contains the shrews, moles, and hedgehogs, though bats and anteaters are also insectivores. Many insects are themselves insectivores; the dragonfly, for instance, is a swift insectivorous terror that lives up to its name. But it's the insectivorous plants that tend to fascinate us; of the over 600 species, the best known are the Venus flytrap (which snaps shut on its prey), the pitcher plants (which drown insects in a tiny pool of water), and the sundews (which capture insects with their sticky surfaces).
voracious Having a huge appetite. /vəˈreɪʃəs/adj. 貪婪的；貪吃的；狼吞虎咽的
• One of the hardest parts of dieting is watching skinny people with voracious appetites consume large amounts of food without gaining weight.
Voracious can be applied to people, animals, and even things, and doesn't always refer to consuming food. Thus, teenagers are voracious eaters; you may become a voracious reader on vacation; and Americans have long been voracious consumers. The most voracious bats may eat three-quarters of their weight in insects in a single night. Some countries have a voracious appetite for oil. Voracious corporations keep 「swallowing」 other companies through mergers.
CARN comes from a Latin word meaning 「flesh」 or 「meat.」 Carnation originally meant 「the color of flesh,」 which was once the only color of the flower we call the carnation. In Christian countries, Lent is the period when the faithful traditionally give up something they love, often meat. The days leading up to Lent are known as the carnival season, from the Italian carnelevare, later shortened to carnevale, which meant 「removal of meat」—though during carnival, of course, people indulge in just about everything, and the removal of meat only comes later.
carnage Great destruction of life (as in a battle); slaughter. /ˈkɑːrnɪdʒ/n. 大屠殺；殘殺；大量絕滅
• Countries around the world appealed to all sides of the conflict to stop the carnage of the war in Bosnia.
This word was taken over straight from French (a Latin-based language), and has mostly referred to large-scale killing in wartime. But carnage needn't refer only to slaughter on the battlefield. With tens of thousands of people dying each year in automobile accidents, it's appropriate to speak of carnage on the nation's highways. And those concerned about the effects of the violence we see constantly on TV and movie screens may refer to that as carnage as well.
carnal Having to do with bodily pleasures. /ˈkɑːrnl/
adj. 肉體的；肉慾的；淫蕩的；性慾的
• The news stories about students on Spring Break tend to focus on the carnal pleasures associated with the annual ritual.
In Christianity in past centuries, carnal was often used as the opposite of spiritual, describing what are sometimes called 「the pleasures of the flesh.」 Thus, gluttony—the consumption of excessive food and drink—was a deadly carnal sin, whereas the holiest monks and hermits might eat hardly anything and never touch wine. Today carnal has a somewhat old-fashioned sound; when we use it, we generally mean simply 「sexual.」
incarnate Given bodily or actual form; especially, having human body.
/ɪnˈkɑːrnət; ˈɪnkɑːrneɪt/ adj. 人體化的，化身的；擬人化的；極典型的；以極端形式體現的 v. 體現，化身為，使具體化；使人格化，擬人化；（人）體現（某種品質）
• For the rest of his life, he would regard his childhood nanny as goodness incarnate.
Incarnate often has a religious ring to it, since for centuries it has been used in the Christian church, which regards Jesus as the incarnation of God—that is, as God made human. Surprisingly, neither word appears in Bible translations; instead, the Latin word incarnatus appears in the Christian creeds (basic statements of belief) and the Catholic Mass. Regardless, incarnate soon began to be used with various nouns: 「the devil incarnate,」 「evil incarnate,」 etc. Notice that incarnate is one of the rare adjectives that usually, but not always, follows its noun. Incarnate is also a verb, though with a slightly different pronunciation: 「This report simply incarnates the prejudices of its authors,」 「For her followers, she incarnates the virtue of selflessness,」 etc.
reincarnation (1) Rebirth in new bodies or forms of life. (2) Someone who has been born again with a new body after death. /ˌriːɪnkɑːrˈneɪʃn/ n. 再生；化身
• Even as a child he struck everyone as a reincarnation of his grandfather, not in his features but in his manner and personality.
It's easy to make fun of people who claim to be the reincarnation of Cleopatra or Napoleon, but they don't come from a culture that takes reincarnation seriously. In Hindu belief, a person must pass through a series of reincarnations—some of which may be as insects or fish—before fully realizing that the bodily pleasures are shallow and that only spiritual life is truly valuable; only then do the reincarnations cease. For Hindus, an 「old soul」 is a person who seems unusually wise from early in life, and whose wisdom must have come from passing through many reincarnations.
4-2
CRED comes from credere, the Latin verb meaning 「to believe」 or 「to entrust.」 We have a good credit rating when institutions trust in our ability to repay a loan, and we carry credentials so that others will believe that we are who we say we are.
credence Mental acceptance of something as true or real; belief. /ˈkriːdns/
n. 信任；憑證；祭器臺（等於credence table，credenza）
• He scoffed and said no one still gives any credence to the story of the Loch Ness monster.
Credence is close in meaning to belief, but there are differences. Unlike belief, credence is seldom used in connection with faith in a religion or philosophy. Instead credence is often used in reference to reports, rumors, and opinions. And, unlike belief, it tends to be used with the words give, lack, lend,and gain. So a new piece of evidence may lend credence to the alibi of a criminal suspect. Claims that a political candidate can become the next President gain credence only after the candidate wins a few primaries. And although stories about Elvis sightings persist, they lack credence for most people.
credible (1) Able to be believed; reasonable to trust or believe. (2) Good enough to be effective. /ˈkredəbl/adj. 可靠的，可信的
• Because of her past criminal record, the defense lawyers knew she wouldn't be a credible witness. Credible evidence is evidence that's likely to be believed. A credible plan is one that might actually work, and a credible excuse is one your parents might actually believe. And just as credible means 「believable,」 the noun credibility means 「believability.」 (But we no longer use incredible to mean the literal opposite of credible, just as we no longer use unbelievable as the literal opposite of believable.) Since cred is short for credibility, 「street cred」 is the kind of credibility among tough young people that you can only get by proving yourself on the mean streets of the inner city.
credulity Readiness and willingness to believe on the basis of little evidence.
/krɪˈduːləti/ n. 輕信；易受騙
• Thrillers and action movies only succeed if they don't strain our credulity too much.
A particularly far-fetched story may be said to strain credulity, stretch credulity, put demands on our credulity, or make claims on our credulity. Credulity is a quality of innocent children (of all ages) and isn't always a bad thing; it must have been pure credulity that enabled Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies fans to wait so long for a World Series victory (「This is the year they're going to take it!」), which probably made life bearable for them. The related adjective is credulous. F. Scott Fitzgerald once defined advertising as 「making dubious promises to a credulous public.」
credo (1) A statement of the basic beliefs of a religious faith. (2) A set of guiding principles or beliefs. /ˈkriːdoʊ,ˈkreɪdoʊ/ n. 信條，教義
• She claims she made her money on Wall Street just by following the old credo 「Buy low, sell high.」
Credo comes straight from the Latin word meaning 「I believe,」 and is the first word of many religious credos, or creeds, such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. But the word can be applied to any guiding principle or set of principles. Of course, you may choose a different credo when you're 52 than when you're 19. But here is the credo of the writer H. L. Mencken, written after he had lived quite a few years: 「I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than to be ignorant.」
FID comes from fides, the Latin word for 「faith」 or 「trust.」 Fidelity is another word for 「faithfulness.」 Confidence is having faith in someone or something. An infidel is someone who lacks a particular kind of religious faith. And the once-popular dog's name Fido is Latin for 「I trust.」
affidavit A sworn statement made in writing.ˌ/æfəˈdeɪvɪt/ n. 宣誓書
• The whole family had signed affidavits stating that they believed the will to be valid.
In Latin, affidavit means 「he (she) has sworn an oath,」 and an affidavit is always a sworn written document. If it contains a lie, the person making it may be prosecuted. Affidavits are often used in court when it isn't possible for someone to appear in person. Police officers must usually file an affidavit with a judge to get a search warrant. Affidavits (unlike similar signed statements called depositions) are usually made without an opposing lawyer being present and able to ask questions.
diffident Lacking confidence; timid, cautious. /ˈdɪfɪdənt/adj. 羞怯的；缺乏自信的；謙虛謹慎的
• He always found it a struggle to get his most diffident students to speak in front of the class.
Diffident means lacking faith in oneself—in other words, the opposite of confident. Distrust in your abilities or opinions usually makes you hesitate to speak or act. Patients who feel diffident around their doctors, for example, don't dare ask them many questions. A helpful friend tries to instill confidence in place of diffidence.
fiduciary (1) Having to do with a confidence or trust. (2) Held in trust for another. /fɪˈdjuːʃəri,fɪˈduːʃieri/n. 受託人；被信託者 adj. 信託的；受信託的；基於信用的
• Pension-fund managers have a fiduciary responsibility to invest the pension's funds for the sole benefit of those who will receive the pensions.
A fiduciary relationship is one in which one person places faith in another. Stockbrokers and real-estate agents have fiduciary duties to their clients, which means they must act in their clients' best financial interests. Members of a company's board of directors have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the financial interests of the company's shareholders. There are legal requirements for those with fiduciary responsibility, and they can be sued for breach of fiduciary duty if they fail.
perfidy Faithlessness, disloyalty, or treachery. /ˈpɜːrfədi/n. 不誠實；背信棄義
• While working for the CIA he was lured into becoming a double agent, and it seems he paid a high price for his perfidy.
The perfidious Benedict Arnold plotted with the British to surrender West Point to them during the American Revolution—an act that made his name a synonym for traitor. In recent years, the perfidy of the double agents Aldrich Ames (of the CIA) and Robert Hanssen (of the FBI) has become notorious.
4-3
CURR/CURS comes from currere, the Latin verb meaning 「to run.」 Although words based on this root don't tend to suggest speed, the sense of movement remains. Current, for instance, refers to running water in a stream or river, or electrons running through a wire, and an excursion is a trip from one place to another.
concurrent Happening or operating at the same time. /kənˈkɜːrənt/adj. 並發的；一致的；同時發生的；並存的 n. [數] 共點；同時發生的事件
• The killer was sentenced to serve three concurrent life terms in prison. Things that are concurrent usually not only happen at the same time but also are similar to each other. So, for example, multitasking computers are capable of performing concurrent tasks. When we take more than one medication at a time, we run the risks involved with concurrent drug use. And at any multiplex theater several movies are running concurrently.
cursory Hastily and often carelessly done. /ˈkɜːrsəri/ adj. 粗略的；草率的；匆忙的
• Having spent the weekend going to parties, she had only given the chapter a cursory reading before class on Monday.
Unlike the other words in this section, cursory always implies speed. But it also stresses a lack of attention to detail. Cursory observations are generally shallow or superficial because of their speed. And when citizens complain about a cursory police investigation of a crime, they're distressed by its lack of thoroughness, not its speed.
discursive Passing from one topic to another. /dɪˈskɜːrsɪv/adj. 散漫的；離題的；東拉西扯的；無層次的
• Some days he allowed himself to write long discursive essays in his diary instead of his usual simple reporting of the day's events.
The Latin verb discurrere meant 「to run about,」 and from this word we get our word discursive, which often means rambling about over a wide range of topics. A discursive writing style generally isn't encouraged by writing teachers. But some of the great 19th-century writers, such as Charles Lamb and Thomas de Quincey, show that the discursive essay, especially when gracefully written and somewhat personal in tone, can be a pleasure to read. And the man often called the inventor of the essay, the great Michel de Montaigne, might touch on dozens of different topics in the course of a long discursive essay.
precursor One that goes before and indicates the coming of another. /priˈkɜːrsər/
n. 先驅，前導；（尤指經新陳代謝形成另一種物質的）前體，前質；前兆
• Scientists are trying to identify special geological activity that may be a precursor to an earthquake, which will help them predict the quake's size, time, and location.
With its prefix pre-, meaning 「before,」 a precursor is literally a 「forerunner,」 and in fact forerunner first appeared as the translation of the Latin praecursor. But the two words function a little differently today. A forerunner may simply come before another thing, but a precursor generally paves the way for something. So, for example, the Office of Strategic Services in World War II was the immediate precursor of today's Central Intelligence Agency, while the blues music of the 1930s and 1940s was only one of the precursors of the rock and roll of today.
PED comes from the Latin word for 「foot.」 A pedal is pushed by the foot; a pedicure is a treatment of the feet, toes, and toenails; and a pedestal is what a statue stands on—in a sense, its foot.
quadruped An animal having four feet.
• She always tells her friends that their farm has five kinds of quadrupeds: sheep, goats, cows, horses, and pigs.
The quadrupeds include almost all the mammals. (Among the exceptions are whales, bats, and humans.) The Greek equivalent of this Latin word is tetrapod. However, the two are not identical, since the tetrapod classification includes bipeds such as birds, in which two of the limbs are no longer used for walking. Insects all have six legs, of course, and in the sea there are eight- legged octopods (including the octopus). But there are no animals of any kind with an odd number of legs.
pedigree The line of ancestors of a person or animal. /ˈpedɪɡriː/ n. 血統；家譜
adj. 純種的
• She talks a lot about her pedigree, but never mentions that a couple of her uncles spent time in prison.
What does someone's ancestry have to do with feet? Because someone once thought that a family tree, or genealogical chart, resembled a crane's foot (in French, pied de grue), even though cranes' feet only have four talons or claws, no more than any other bird, while a family tree may have hundreds of branches. The word pedigree is usually used for purebred animals— cats, racehorses, and dogs, as well as livestock such as cows and sheep. Some people continue to believe that 「purity」 in human family trees is a good thing as well, though most of us find the idea a little creepy.
impediment Something that interferes with movement or progress.
/ɪmˈpedɪmənt/ n. 口吃；妨礙；阻止
• Her poorly developed verbal ability was the most serious impediment to her advancement.
Impediment comes from a Latin verb that meant 「to interfere with」 or 「to get in the way of progress,」 as if by tripping up the feet of someone walking. In English, impediment still suggests an obstruction or obstacle along a path; for example, a lack of adequate roads and bridges would be called an impediment to economic development. Impediments usually get in the way of something we want. So we may speak of an impediment to communication, marriage, or progress—but something that slows the progress of aging, disease, or decay is rarely called an impediment.
pedestrian Commonplace, ordinary, or unimaginative. /pəˈdestriən/ n. 行人；步行者 adj. 徒步的；缺乏想像力的
• While politicians endlessly discussed the great issues facing Russia, the Russians worried about such pedestrian concerns as finding enough food, shelter, and clothing.
Most of us know pedestrian as a noun meaning someone who travels on foot. But the adjective sense of pedestrian as defined here is actually its original meaning. To be pedestrian was to be drab or dull, as if plodding along on foot rather than speeding on horseback or by coach. Pedestrian is often used to describe a colorless or lifeless writing style, but it can also describe politicians, public tastes, personal qualities, or possessions. In comparison with the elaborate stage shows put on by today's rock artists, for instance, most of the stage presentations of 1960s rock stars seem pedestrian.
4-4
FLECT comes from flectere, the Latin verb meaning 「to bend.」 The root sometimes takes the form flex-. Things that are flexible can be bent, and when you flex a muscle, you're usually bending a limb—which, as a trainer at the gym will tell you, requires the use of flexor muscles.
deflect To turn aside, especially from a straight or fixed course. /dɪˈflekt/
vt. 使轉向；使偏斜；使彎曲 vi. 轉向；偏斜
• The stealth technology used on bombers and fighter jets works by deflecting radar energy, making them 「invisible.」
Use of the physical meaning of deflect is common. Thus, a soccer goalie's save might involve deflecting the ball rather than catching it, and workers wear eye shields to deflect tiny particles flying out of machines. But the nonphysical meaning may be even more common. A Hollywood actress might deflect criticism about her personal life by giving lavishly to charity, for example, and we've all tried to change the subject to deflect a question we really didn't want to answer.
reflective (1) Capable of reflecting light, images, or sound waves. (2) Thoughtful./rɪˈflektɪv/ adj. 反射的；反映的；沉思的
• He likes action movies and going out drinking with friends, but when you get to know him you realize he's basically reflective and serious.
Reflective people are people who reflect on things—that is, look back at things that have been done or said in order to think calmly and quietly about them. Most reflective people would agree with Socrates that (as he told the jury that would soon sentence him to death) 「The unexamined life is not worth living.」 Reflective people tend to be a bit philosophical and intellectual. But almost everyone has reflective moods; gazing into a fireplace or a campfire seems to do it to almost everyone.
genuflect To kneel on one knee and then rise as an act of respect.
/ˈdʒenjuflekt/vi. 屈服；跪拜（尤指做宗教儀式時）
• At religious shrines in China, pilgrims may not only genuflect but actually lie down flat on the ground.
Genuflection, which contains the root genu-, 「knee,」 has long been a mark of respect and obedience. King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table genuflected not only when he knighted them but whenever they greeted him formally, and this custom remains in countries today that are still ruled by royalty. In some churches, each worshipper is expected to genuflect whenever entering or leaving a pew on the central aisle.
inflection (1) A change in the pitch, tone, or loudness of the voice. (2) The change in form of a word showing its case, gender, number, person, tense, mood, voice, or comparison. /ɪnˈflekʃn/n. 彎曲，變形；音調變化
• She couldn't understand her grandfather's words, but she knew from his inflection that he was asking a question. Changing the pitch, tone, or loudness of our words are ways we communicate meaning in speech, though not on the printed page. A rising inflection at the end of a sentence generally indicates a question, and a falling inflection indicates a statement, for example. Another way of inflecting words is by adding endings: -s to make a noun plural, -ed to put a verb in the past tense, -er to form the comparative form of an adjective, and so on.
POST comes from a Latin word meaning 「after」 or 「behind.」 A postscript (or PS) is a note that comes after an otherwise completed letter, usually as an afterthought. Postpartum refers to the period following childbirth, with any related events and complications. To postdate a check is to give it a date after the day it was written.
posterior Situated toward or on the back; rear.
• In a human posterior and dorsal can both refer to the back, but in a fish posterior refers to the tail area.
Posterior comes from the Latin word posterus, meaning 「coming after.」 Posterior is often used as a technical term in biology and medicine to refer to the back side of things, and is the opposite of anterior, which refers to the front side. For example, as more people took up running as a sport, doctors began to see an increase in stress fractures along the posterior as well as the anterior surface of the lower leg bones. In some technical fields, posterior may mean 「later.」 When used as a noun, posterior simply means 「buttocks.」
posthumous (1) Published after the death of the author. (2) Following or happening after one's death.
• Though Van Gogh scarcely sold a single painting during his lifetime, he rose to posthumous fame as one of the world's great artists.
Posthumous fame is fame that comes a little late. In fact, its original meaning in English is 「born after the death of the father.」 Bill Clinton was the posthumous son of a father who died in an automobile accident. The word is now mostly used of artistic works that appear after the death of the artist, or the changing reputation of a dead artist. Such posthumous works as Herman Melville's Billy Budd, the diary of Anne Frank, and almost all the poetry of Emily Dickinson have become legendary, and in each case they had a major influence on the writer's reputation.
postmodern Having to do with a movement in architecture, art, or literature that is a reaction against modernism and that reintroduces traditional elements and techniques in odd contexts as well as elements from popular culture.
• The postmodern AT&T building in New York, with the 「Chippendale」 top that reminds viewers of an antique dresser, aroused a storm of criticism.
With its prefix post-, postmodern describes a movement that has reacted against modernism. Modernism, dating from around the start of the 20th century, represented a sharp break from 19th-century styles. But in the 1970s architects began to be dissatisfied with the stark simplicity of most modern architecture and began including in their mostly modern designs such traditional elements as columns, arches, and keystones and sometimes startling color contrasts such as might have come from advertising and pop culture. In art and literature, as in architecture, postmodernism often seems to be making fun of tradition, especially by denying that there's any real distinction between serious and popular art or writing. Wherever it has shown up, postmodernism has been greeted with a mixture of approval, disapproval, and sometimes amusement.
postmortem (1) Occurring after death. (2) Following the event. /ˌpoʊstˈmɔːrtəm/n. 驗屍；檢視；屍體檢查 adj. 死後的；死後發生的
• In their postmortem discussion of the election, the reporters tried to explain how the polls and predictions could have been so completely wrong.
Post mortem is Latin for 「after death.」 In English, postmortem refers to an examination, investigation, or process that takes place after death. A postmortem examination of a body (often simply called a postmortem) is often needed to determine the time and cause of death; the stiffening called rigor mortis is one postmortem change that doctors look at to determine when death occurred. Today we've come to use postmortem to refer to any examination or discussion that takes place after an event.
4-5 Words from Mythology
calypso A folk song or style of singing of West Indian origin that has a lively rhythm and words that are often made up by the singer. /kəˈlɪpsoʊ/ n. 海中女神（荷馬《奧德賽》中人物）
• If you take a Caribbean vacation in December, you end up listening to a lot of Christmas carols played to a calypso beat.
In Homer's Odyssey, the nymph Calypso detains Odysseus for seven years on his way home from the Trojan War, using all her wiles to hold him on her lush island. For many people, the calypso music of the West Indian islands, which was eventually brought to America by singers such as the Andrews Sisters and later Harry Belafonte, has some of the same captivating power as the nymph, though the lyrics that are often improvised to the melodies tend to make fun of local people and happenings. The original name for these songs, however, actually seems to be based on a similar-sounding African word, for which, early in the 20th century, someone began substituting this name from Greek mythology.
odyssey (1) A long, wandering journey full of trials and adventures. (2) A spiritual journey or quest. /ˈɑːdəsi/n. 奧德賽（古希臘史詩）；漫長的旅程
• Their six-month camping trip around the country was an odyssey they would always remember.
Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey, spends 20 years traveling home from the Trojan War. He has astonishing adventures and learns a great deal about himself and the world; he even descends to the underworld to talk to the dead. Thus, an odyssey is any long, complicated journey, often a quest for a goal, and may be a spiritual or psychological journey as well as an actual voyage.
palladium A precious, silver-white metal related to platinum that is used in electrical contacts and as an alloy with gold to form white gold. /pəˈleɪdiəm/n. [化學] 鈀；守護神
• Most wedding rings today are simple bands of gold, platinum, or palladium.
Pallas Athena was one of the poetical names given to the Greek goddess Athena (although it's no longer clear what Pallas was supposed to mean), and the original palladium was a statue of Athena that was believed to have the power to protect the ancient city of Troy. When an asteroid belt was discovered between Mars and Jupiter, most of the asteroids were named after figures in Greek mythology, and one of the first to be discovered was named Pallas in 1803. In the same year, scientists isolated a new silvery metal element, which they named palladium in honor of the recently discovered asteroid.
Penelope A modest domestic wife. /pəˈneləpi/n. 佩內洛普（女子名）；Odysseus的忠實妻子
• Critics of Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 1990s would perhaps have preferred her to be a Penelope, quietly tending the White House and staying out of politics.
In the Odyssey, Penelope waits 20 long years for her husband Odysseus to return from Troy. During that time, she must raise their son and fend off the attentions of numerous rough suitors. She preserves herself for a long time by saying she cannot remarry until she has finished weaving a funeral shroud for her aging father-in-law; however, what she weaves each day she secretly unravels each night. A Penelope thus appears to be the perfect, patient, faithful wife (and may be using her clever intelligence to keep herself that way).
procrustean Ruthlessly disregarding individual differences or special circumstances. /ˌproʊˈkrʌstiən/ adj. 強求一致的；迫使就範的；殘暴的
• The school's procrustean approach seemed to assume that all children learned in the same way and at the same rate.
In the Greek tale of the hero Theseus, Procrustes was a bandit who ambushed travelers and, after robbing them, made them lie on an iron bed. To make sure they 「fit」 this bed, he would cut off the parts that hung off the ends or stretch the body if it was too short; either way, the unlucky traveler always died. When he made the mistake of confronting Theseus, Procrustes was made to 「fit」 his own bed. Something procrustean takes no account of individual differences but cruelly and mercilessly makes everything the same.
protean (1) Displaying great versatility or variety. (2) Able to take on many different forms or natures. /ˈproʊtiən,proʊˈtiːən/ adj. 千變萬化的；一人演幾個角色的；變形蟲的
• A protean athlete, he left college with offers from the professional leagues to play baseball, football, and basketball.
As the story is told in the Odyssey, at the end of the Trojan War the sea god Proteus revealed to King Menelaus of Sparta how to get home from Troy with his unfaithful wife, the beautiful Helen of Troy. Before Proteus would give up the information, though, Menelaus had to capture him—no mean feat, since Proteus had the ability to change into any natural shape he chose. The word protean came to describe this ability to change into many different shapes or to play many different roles in quick succession.
sibyl A female prophet or fortune-teller. /ˈsɪbl/n. 女巫；女預言家
n. (Sibyl)人名；(英)西比爾
• The villagers told him about an aged woman who lived alone in a hut on a nearby mountain, a sibyl who knew the future and would prophesy under the right conditions.
Ancient writers refer to the existence of various women in such countries as Babylonia, Greece, Italy, and Egypt, through whom the gods regularly spoke. These sibyls were easy to confuse with the oracles, women who were likewise mouthpieces of the gods, at such sites as Apollo's temple at Delphi. The most famous sibyl was the Sibyl of Cumae in Italy, a withered crone who lived in a cave. Her prophecies were collected into twelve books, three of which survived to be consulted by the Romans in times of national emergencies. She is one of the five sibyls memorably depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
siren A woman who tempts men with bewitching sweetness.
/ˈsaɪrən/n. 汽笛；迷人的女人；歌聲動人的女歌手 adj. 迷人的 vt. 引誘
• Reporters treated her like a sex symbol, but she lacked the graceful presence and air of mystery of a real siren.
The sirens were a group of partly human female creatures that lured sailors onto destructive rocks with their singing. Odysseus and his men encountered the sirens on their long journey home from Troy. The only way to sail by them safely was to make oneself deaf to their enchanting song, so Odysseus packed the men's ears with wax, while he himself, ever curious, kept his ears open but had himself tied to the mast to keep from flinging himself into the water or steering his ship toward sure destruction in his desire to see them. A siren today is a sinister but almost irresistible woman. A siren song, however, may be any appeal that lures a person to act against his or her better judgment.