Unit 89

futile / fertile

futile adj. 无效的，无用的 (completely ineffective) /ˈfjuːtʌɪl/

• Nancy made a futile attempt to grab the life preserver before being washed out to sea.

fertile adj. 多产的（即可指农作物，也可以指思想、想法） (producing a large amount of something) /ˈfəːtʌɪl/

• The so-called fertile crescent, a section of land including the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and Mesopotamia, got its name by virtue of producing the resources to help human civilization flourish.

coarse / coerce

coarse adj. 粗糙的 (having a rough quality) /kɔːs/

• The coarse, woolen sweater chafed Emily's skin so much that angry red marks appeared where it had rubbed against her body.

coerce v. 迫使，强迫 (to compel to an act or choice) /kəʊˈəːs/

• The defendant claimed that the other robbers had used blackmail to coerce him into helping them commit the crime.

lambaste / bombast

lambaste v. 严厉批评 (to criticize (someone or something) very harshly) /lamˈbeɪst/

• CNN has publicly lambasted Donald Trump for his insular political views.

bombast n. 夸大的言辞 (pretentious, inflated speech or writing) /ˈbɒmbast/

• The politician's verbal bombast sounded so pretentious that we changed the radio station.

didactic / dictatorial

didactic adj. 用于教育他人的, 说教的 (designed or intended to teach people something) /dɪˈdaktɪk/

• Our parents did their best to supply us with didactic toys to help us learn, but we preferred watching cartoons.

dictatorial adj. 独裁的，独裁者的 (trying to control other people in a forceful and unfair way ) /dɪktəˈtɔːrɪəl/

• Our father is extremely dictatorial, constantly ordering us around as though we are his servants rather than his children.

appropriate / approximate

appropriate adj. 合适的 (suitable or compatible ) /əˈprəʊprɪət/

• Shiloh was so concerned with other people's opinions that she often worried about whether or not she was appropriately dressed.

approximate adj. 大约的，近似的 (located close to a real or actual thing, something inexact but very similar) /əˈprɒksɪmət/

• Film scripts based on books tend to be approximate versions of the original work.