精选新GRE词汇之神话类

　　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。

　　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。