black-and-white mindset
rigid ideological stances
rave reviews

outreach adjective [before noun]
when an organization brings medical or similar services to people at home or to where they spend time:
an outreach worker/centre
An AIDS outreach program for prostitutes on the streets.

lump together

hegemony noun [U] FORMAL(especially of countries)
the position of being the strongest and most powerful and therefore able to control others:
The three nations competed for regional hegemony.

Appeasement of dictators, said the president, led to wide scale bloodshed.

hit the road
to leave a place or begin a journey:I'd love to stay longer but I must be hitting the road.

blast furnace noun [C]
a container in which iron is produced by blowing extremely hot air through a mixture of iron ore,
coke and limestone

in sight (adj.)

oust verb [T]
to force someone to leave a position of power, job, place or competition:
The president was ousted (from power) in a military coup in January 1987.Police are trying to oust drug dealers from the city centre.The champions were defeated by Arsenal and ousted from the League Cup.

eligible adjective
1 having the necessary qualities or fulfilling the necessary conditions:
Are you eligible for early retirement/maternity leave?You might be eligible for a grant.Only people over 18 are eligible to vote.
2 describes someone who is not married and is desirable as a marriage partner, especially because they are rich and attractive:
I can think of several eligible bachelors of my acquaintance.

poverty trap noun [U] UK
a situation in which someone would be even poorer or not noticeably richer if they had a job because they would no longer receive financial help from the government:
He's caught in the poverty trap and will only be five pounds a week better off if he accepts the job.

a swarm of

revitalize, UK USUALLY revitalise Hide phoneticsverb [T] to give new life, energy, activity or success to something:Japanese investment has revitalized this part of Britain.

Fifth spacewalk energises Hubble
Shuttle Atlantis astronauts have completed the fifth and final spacewalk to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel renewed the observatory's batteries which enable it to keep operating when its solar panels are in shadow.
They also replaced a fine-guidance sensor that helps keep the telescope's gaze precisely fixed on image targets.
In addition, the spacewalking pair fitted three thermal blankets protecting Hubble's electronics.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
Named after the great US astronomer Edwin Hubble
Launched in 1990 into a 600km-high circular orbit
Equipped with a 2.4m primary mirror and five instruments
Length: 15.9m; diameter: 4.2m; Mass: 11,110kg
Monday's spacewalk lasted seven hours and two minutes.
The servicing mission has been a great success so far.
Difficult to budge bolts and problematic tools have slowed the spacewalkers on occasions but overall they have been delighted with their progress through the list of planned refurbishments.
"This is a really tremendous adventure that we've been on, a very challenging mission. Hubble isn't just a satellite - it's about humanity's quest for knowledge," said Grunsfeld.
"A tour de force of tools and human ingenuity. On this mission in particular, the only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
"On this mission, we tried some things that some people said were impossible…. We've achieved that, and we wish Hubble the very best."
Hubble will be released from the orbiter's cargo bay on Tuesday, with the repairs and upgrades that the mission has accomplished promising at least five more years of observations.
Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to return to Earth on Friday.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/8056186.stmPublished: 2009/05/18 23:24:36 GMT© BBC MMIX
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thermal adjective [before noun]
SPECIALIZED connected with heat:
thermal conductivity (= ability of a substance to carry heat)It was the Romans who first recognised the medicinal benefits of Hungary's thermal springs (= ones which produce hot water).

refurbish verb [T] FORMAL
to make a building look new and bright again:The developers refurbished the house inside and out.

refurbished adjective [before noun]

refurbishment noun [C or U]

tremendous adjective
very great in amount or level, or extremely good:
They were making the most tremendous amount of noise last night.She's been a tremendous (= very great) help to me over the last few months.You won? That's tremendous!

tremendously adverb
We all enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

quest noun [C] LITERARY
a long search for something that is difficult to find, or an attempt to achieve something difficult:Nothing will stop them in their quest for truth.She went to India on a spiritual quest.
[+ to infinitive] She does aerobics four times a week in her quest to achieve the perfect body.

US plans derivatives regulations
The US Treasury wants more regulation of derivatives - the complex financial instruments that brought down some of Wall Street's biggest names.
Proposals to be set out by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will call for an electronic system to monitor buying and selling in the market.
Firms trading in derivatives will need enough capital in case they default and will face tough reporting requirements.
AIG and Lehman Brothers were among the firms ruined by dealing in derivatives.
“ The days when a major insurance company could bet the house on credit default swaps with no one watching and no credible backing to protect the company or taxpayers from losses must end ” Timothy Geithner Treasury Secretary
Perhaps the most notorious form of derivative is the credit-default swap.
Insurance giant AIG sold these to investors as a form of insurance to protect against defaults on mortgage-backed securities.
But the firm had to accept a hefty federal bailout after it was unable to support the contracts.
Under the Treasury's plan, the likes of AIG would have to prove they had enough reserve capital to support their sale of the derivatives.
These measures would reduce risk to the financial system, Mr Geithner said.
Hedging and speculation
Existing US law largely excludes regulation of such instruments - referred to as "over-the-counter" because they are privately traded.
"The days when a major insurance company could bet the house on credit default swaps with no one watching and no credible backing to protect the company or taxpayers from losses must end," Mr Geithner told Congress.
In a draft letter, to congressional leaders, the Treasury said that "all (over-the-counter) derivatives dealers and all other firms whose activities in those markets create large exposures to counterparties should be subject to a robust regime of prudential supervision and regulation".
"Key elements of that robust regulatory regime must include conservative capital requirements, business conduct standards, reporting requirements and conservative requirements relating to initial margins on counterparty credit exposures," the department added.
Derivatives are basically financial contracts which are a way of allowing traders to hedge their bets.
They can protect companies and banks against unexpected developments, for example sudden falls or rises in the value of currencies or commodities.
Derivatives are also used in speculation, whereby investors can increase profit if the value of the underlying contract moves in the way they expect.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/8049123.stmPublished: 2009/05/13 21:35:16 GMT© BBC MMIX
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default (FAIL) verb [I]

to fail to do something, such as pay a debt, that you legally have to do:People who default on their mortgage repayments may have their home repossessed.



default noun [C or U]

Defaults on loan repayments have reached 52 000 a month.Any default on your mortgage repayments may mean you will lose your house.Since they refuse to reply, I think we've won the argument by default (= because of their failure to act).The default rate (= the number of people failing to do something) is estimated at 1 in 10 of tax payers.



notorious adjective

famous for something bad:one of Britain's most notorious criminalsThe company is notorious for paying its bills late.



notoriously adverb

The crime of rape is notoriously (= famous as being) difficult to prove.



notoriety noun [U]

the state of being famous for something bad:He achieved/gained notoriety for murdering eleven women in the north of England.



hefty adjective

large in amount, size, force, etc:a hefty bill/fineHer salary will go up by a hefty 10%.a hefty woman with dyed blond hair



bail sb/sth out (HELP), UK ALSO bale sb out phrasal verb [M]to help a person or organization that is in difficulty, usually by giving or lending them money:She keeps running up huge debts and asking friends to bail her out.



bailout noun [C usually singular]

MAINLY USThree years of huge losses forced the bank to seek a government bailout.The Clinton administration last winter assembled the $50 billion emergency bailout package to ease a financial crisis in Mexico.

Following article is from BBC news.

Mexico denies swine flu cover-up
Mexico's health minister has denied allegations by Fidel Castro that the country intentionally failed to reveal the existence of swine flu last month.
The former Cuban leader accused Mexico of covering up the outbreak in order to avoid missing out on a visit by US President Barack Obama.
The minister, Jose Angel Cordova, said Mexico had been extremely forthcoming and proactive over the outbreak.
It has been doing all it can to combat the H1N1 virus ever since, he added.
Mr Castro's comments came after Cuba reported its first confirmed case of swine flu on Monday. Correspondents say his remarks may contribute to a further worsening of relations between the two countries.
Cuba cancelled all flights to Mexico when news of the outbreak first emerged.
Mexico has confirmed the deaths of 58 people from swine flu and the spread of the virus caused a national crisis, with restrictions on public gatherings only relaxed last week.
'Not the CIA'
Mexican President Felipe Calderon said last week he might cancel a planned trip to Cuba "as one of the unforeseen consequences of decisions that have no technical basis" - a clear reference to Cuba's ban on flights.
Mr Castro responded late on Monday in an internet column in which he referred to President Obama's visit to Mexico in mid-April, which came days before a spreading flu outbreak in the country was officially diagnosed as swine flu.
"The Mexican authorities did not inform the world of [the outbreak], awaiting the visit of Obama," the former Cuban leader wrote.
"Now they threaten us with suspending Calderon's trip."
A Mexican was diagnosed with swine flu in Mexico on Monday. He had become ill after returning from a trip home in late April.
"The only thing that can be confirmed now is that [the flu] wasn't brought here by the CIA," Mr Castro added in his column.
"It came from Mexico."
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8047052.stmPublished: 2009/05/12 21:30:36 GMT© BBC MMIX


allegation noun [C] FORMAL
a statement which has not been proven to be true which says that someone has done something wrong or illegal:Several of her patients have made allegations of professional misconduct about/against her.[+ that] Allegations that Mr Dwight was receiving money from known criminals have caused a scandal.

forthcoming (SOON) adjective [before noun]
happening soon:We have just received the information about the forthcoming conference.

proactive adjective
taking action by causing change and not only reacting to change when it happens:Companies are going to have to be more proactive about environmental management.a proactive approach/roleproactively adverb

basis vs. bias

My Test, my feeling, my life

My test is coming, May 25 2009.



I know that I'm not a serious student because that every day I can't catch the normal progress.

However, I keep practing, though usually I only finish 40%~70%.

At least, I don't stop practing.



Actually, in my deep mind I really afraid the coming test.

Not because of tighted schedule, not because of difficult content - the true reason is that : I regards test as self vertification. If I get terrible score, means that I'm stupid.



But...who said so?

I just afraid, withought meaning.

It's very rediculous; however, it's also vivid.

The happiness of reading

I used to enjoy reading a long time ago.
When I was 7, I spend much time you couldn't image in reading.
I almost "finished" all books in shelves of home, including collections of Mom, adult novels too difficult to understand for me - you can easily know that how crazy I was at that time.
However, I find one fact that I rarely read in the previous months.
I failed to recall the happniess of reading anymore - mostly result from TEST of GMAT.
During the RC test of verbal section, I failed and feared and thought reading was so difficult and depressing.
I lost my confidence then.

I try to recall my love of reading recently.
GMAT is just a test, though it's very diffucult but still can't scare me out.

Night Blue

One research mentions that long hours of night may increase the possiblity of melancholia.
I couldn't understand that because I prefer the silness of night.

Yesterady I left office early, and foud some support to above research.
I watched the scenery in taxi and was impressed by the fabulous beauty.
Watching the sunset made me peaceful and touched, making me happier.

I think I really need a vacation.
Need some space to breath.