Unit 20

UNIT 20 WORD LIST absurd If something or someone is absurd, they are ridiculous. That group of people making animal noises sounds completely absurd. aristocracy The aristocracy is the highest class of people in certain societies. Most members of the aristocracy were very well fed. aristocrat An aristocrat is a person who is of the highest class in certain societies. The aristocrat did not need a job because his family was wealthy. attire Attire is nice or special clothing. Everyone wore their best attire to the president's daughter's wedding. craze A craze is a brief and popular activity or object. Wearing bright red socks was a craze when I was in high school. denote When one thing denotes another, it stands as a sign or substitute for that thing. Quotation marks are used to denote speech. enlarge To enlarge something means to make it bigger. The classrooms were enlarged over the summer to make room for more students. excess An excess is an amount of something that is more than needed or wanted. Because it never got cold that winter, many stores had an excess of coats. feminine If something is feminine, then it has qualities that are commonly related to women. Many of the older people thought his long hair made him look too feminine. hierarchy A hierarchy is a system of things or people ranked one above the other. Everyone knows where they fit in the hierarchy.

荒谬的如果某事或某人是荒谬的，他们是荒谬的。 那群人发出动物的声音听起来很荒谬。 贵族是某些社会中的最高阶层。 大多数贵族都吃得很好。 贵族是指在某些社会中属于最高阶级的人。 这位贵族不需要工作，因为他的家庭很富有。 装束是漂亮的或特殊的衣服。 每个人都穿着最好的衣服参加总统女儿的婚礼。 “热潮”是指一种短暂而流行的活动或对象。 穿鲜红色的袜子是我上高中时的一种狂热。 当一件事物表示另一件事物时，它就作为那件事物的符号或替代品。 引号是用来表示言语的。 放大某物的意思是使它变大。 为了容纳更多的学生，教室在夏天被扩大了。 过剩是指某物超出需要或想要的数量。 因为那年冬天从不冷，许多商店都有多余的外套。 如果某物是阴性的，那么它具有通常与女性相关的品质。 许多老年人认为他的长发使他看起来太女性化了。 hierarchy n .等级制度等级制度是指事物或人的一个等级高于另一个等级。 每个人都知道自己在等级制度中的位置。

pad A pad is a thick piece of soft material used to protect or clean things. Football players wear shoulder pads to keep them safe. partner Your partner is someone who lives or works with you as an equal. Ladies and gentlemen, take your partners for the next dance. predominant If something is predominant, then it is the most important, common, or strongest. Before cars were invented, horses were the predominant method of travel. protocol Protocol is a system of rules and customs that guides how things are done. The introduction of the guests followed the normal protocol. reputable If someone or something is reputable, then they have a good reputation. The service from the less-than-reputable company made her angry. signify To signify means to be a symbol of something. A red octagon is used to signify a place to stop. strap A strap is a thin long piece of fabric used to fasten, carry, or hold something. She put the strap of her purse over her shoulder and walked out the door. style Your style is the way you do things. Her clothes were all in the latest style. tangle A tangle is something or many things twisted together. The laces of his shoes were in such a tangle that he could not untie them. vanity Vanity is excessive pride or love of one's own appearance or things one has done. Her vanity won't allow her to pass a mirror without looking at herself.

垫子是一种厚的柔软的材料，用来保护或清洁东西。 足球运动员戴垫肩以保证安全。 你的伴侣是与你平等生活或工作的人。 女士们先生们，带着你们的舞伴跳下一支舞。 如果某物是显性的，那么它是最重要的、常见的或最强的。 在汽车发明之前，骑马是主要的旅行方式。 礼仪是一套规则和习俗，指导人们如何做事。 客人的介绍按照正常的礼节进行。 如果某人或某事是信誉良好的，那么他们有良好的声誉。 这家信誉不佳的公司提供的服务让她很生气。 signify意为成为某事的象征。 一个红色的八角形是用来表示一个地方停止。 带子是一种细长的织物，用来固定、携带或握住某物。 她把钱包的带子搭在肩上，走出了门。 你的风格就是你做事的方式。 她的衣服都是最新款式的。 tangle是指一件东西或许多东西缠绕在一起。 他的鞋带缠成一团，他解不开。 虚荣虚荣是对自己的外表或所做的事情的过度骄傲或爱。 她的虚荣心不允许她走过镜子而不照照自己。

Dressed to Excess If you traveled back in time to the 1700s in Europe, you would laugh when you saw how the aristocracy dressed. Soon you'd realize, though, that the aristocrats of Europe were very serious about their appearance. Their appearance was one way of denoting their rank in the social hierarchy. The predominant style in women's attire was enormous dresses. They were often three times larger than the wearer. Ladies even used pads to enlarge the appearance of their hips and shoulders. On the other extreme, the aristocratic women made their waists appear extremely thin. It took several maids stretching fabric and pulling straps in order to get a lady's waist to the proper thinness. These ladies could barely breathe and often fainted. Pale skin was also a craze, yet this too was done in excess. One could not simply be pale. Instead, she needed to look as if she was ill. In order to look paler, ladies actually cut themselves daily, so they would bleed. The hairstyles, however, were the most striking part of women's fashion. These stood a meter high on the ladies' heads. The columns of hair were a ridiculous tangle of wigs, jewels, flowers, and even stuffed birds. Their partners, the men, were similarly absurd. Today, they would probably seem very feminine. Reputable men wore wigs of long curly hair. Their shoes had large soles or high heels so that they could walk high above the filth on the streets. Furthermore, just like the ladies, the men wore lipstick and painted their cheeks red. Their clothes were brightly colored, often purple and pink. They were made from the finest of fabrics and decorated with jewels and lace. The men competed with one another to see who wore the more expensive clothes, for the clothing signified wealth and status. Both men and women spent huge amounts of money and time on how they looked but it was part of the protocol they were expected to follow. Though such vanity would seem strange today, three hundred years from now, the fashions of our time might also seem completely ridiculous.

如果你回到18世纪的欧洲，当你看到贵族的穿着时，你会笑。 不过，你很快就会意识到，欧洲贵族对自己的外表是非常认真的。 他们的外表是表明他们在社会等级中的地位的一种方式。 妇女服装的主要风格是宽大的连衣裙。 它们通常比穿着者大三倍。 女士们甚至使用护垫来扩大臀部和肩膀的外观。 在另一个极端，贵族妇女使她们的腰显得非常细。 为了让一位女士的腰部达到合适的细度，需要几个女仆来拉伸布料和拉带子。 这些女士几乎不能呼吸，经常晕倒。 白皮肤也是一种狂热，但这也是过度的。 一个人不能只是脸色苍白。 相反，她需要装出生病的样子。 为了看起来更苍白，女士们实际上每天都在割伤自己，这样她们就会流血。 然而，发型是女性时尚中最引人注目的部分。 这些雕像在女士们的头上有一米高。 那一根根头发是假发、珠宝、鲜花，甚至还有鸟标本的一团乱麻。 她们的伴侣——男性——也同样荒谬。 今天，它们可能看起来很女性化。 有名望的男人戴着长长的卷发假发。 他们的鞋有大底或高跟，这样他们就可以走得比街上的脏东西高。 此外，就像女人一样，男人也涂口红，把脸颊涂成红色。 他们的衣服颜色鲜艳，通常是紫色和粉红色。 它们是用最好的织物制成的，装饰着珠宝和花边。 男人们互相竞争，看谁穿的衣服更贵，因为衣服象征着财富和地位。 男人和女人都花了大量的金钱和时间在他们的外表上，但这是他们应该遵守的协议的一部分。 虽然这种虚荣心在今天看来很奇怪，但三百年后，我们这个时代的时尚也可能显得完全荒谬。