a)UNDERSTAND#to be involved in a situation or activity that is too difficult for you to understand or deal with 不能理解,超出本身的能力
I felt completely out of my depth at the meeting.
我在会上感到自己一点都听不懂。
b)WATERBritish EnglishBrE to be in water that is too deep for you to stand in 【英】在水深没顶的地方
Examples from the Corpus
be out of your depth• All went through him, and the hapless McCann, theoretically marking him, was out of his depth.• But he is out of his depth.• I tried to read the report, but I was way out of my depth.• I was hopelessly out of my depth in collegechemistry classes.• While the old hands somehow muddle through, novicesare out of their depth within minutes.• She was out of her depth in the advancedclass, so they moved her to the intermediate class.
5the depths of somethingwhen a bad feeling or situation is at its worst level 〔坏情绪或坏情况〕最强烈的时刻,最糟糕的时候
She was in the depths of despair.
她处于绝望的深渊之中。
The country was recovering from the depths of recession.
这个国家正在从最严重的经济衰退中恢复过来。
Examples from the Corpus
the depths of something• In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaksbelong to him.• A tidalwave, coming from the depths of the waters, shook those coasts violently while the burial was going on.• From the depths of my patchy education, I recalled that Shelley had drowned in a storm on a lake.• The central attraction is the TropicalSwimmingParadise, which claims to maintain a sub-tropical climate even in the depths of mid-winter.• There were some joints in the depths of the freezer, but he didn't like to attack these.• The Trummelbach Falls are nearby, spectacularwaterfalls which plunge into the depths of the mountain.• It was Amy who correctly assessed her brother, although not even she plumbedthe depths of his duplicity.• This detail in the story shows that the son was driven to the depths ofdespair.
6the depths of the ocean/countryside/forest etcDNMIDDLEthe part that is furthest away from people, and most difficult to reach 海洋深处/偏远的乡村/森林深处等
Astronomers may one day travel to the depths of space.
天文学家也许有一天可以到太空深处去。
Examples from the Corpus
the depths of the ocean/countryside/forest etc• The sporadicgunfire, explosions and shouting in the depths of the forest, seemed to belong to a different world.• So the depths of the oceans are full of lights moving rhythmically around and continually turning off and on.• Illegalactivity is not limited to the depths of the forest.
7.the depths of winterTMCPERIOD OF TIMEthe middle of winter, especially when it is very cold 隆冬
Examples from the Corpus
the depths of winter• Sexy underwear's got nothing on thermalbritches and vests when it comes to keeping you cosy in the depths of winter.• Even in the depths of winter the sea ice is never a complete cover.• Always try to see a prospective home in the depths of winter.• This lightningcampaignundertaken in the depths of winter while most people were still celebrating Christmas had the desired effect.• All the windows were shuttered as if we were in the depths of winter.• Besides I don't think the gondoliers work in the depths of winter.
8.the depthsliteraryDEEP the deepest parts of the sea 海洋深处,深海
depth of knowledge/understanding/experience• He talks about them non-stop, rapid-fire, revealing a depth of knowledge that contradicts the simplicity of the subject.• The demands for higher testscores seem to emphasizespeed and coverage, not depth of understanding or commitment.• I know of no-one else who has the same depth of knowledge of the subject and who can write with such articulation.• Over-familiarity with a particular area may lead to an assumption that others have the same depth of knowledge.• But the depth of experience on which children can rely when they encounter a new topic varies from one topic to another.• In all cases the depth of knowledge required should be more advanced than that required for ProfessionalExaminations.• But they can not gain the depth of knowledge and analysis required for sound and reasoneddecision making.
1distance from top to bottom or from back to front; deep part of sth深度;深處ADJECTIVE | VERB + DEPTH | DEPTH + NOUN | PREPOSITION | PHRASESADJECTIVE➤considerable, great相當的深度;極深◇species that live at considerable depth生活在相當深處的物種◇They go down to great depths below the surface.他們下到了地表以下很深的地方。➤maximum最大深度▸➤soil, water土壤深度;水深▸➤shallow淺淺的深度◇Water normally moves more slowly at shallower depths.水在較淺的地方一般流動較慢。➤abyssal (technical術語) 深海底◇the abyssal depths of the ocean海洋深淵➤black, dark, murky漆黑的/昏暗的/陰暗的深處▸➤watery水下深處◇The ship's mast finally disappeared into the watery depths.船桅最終消失在水下很深的地方。VERB + DEPTH➤plumb, plunge into, reach測量深度;跳入深處;到達深處DEPTH + NOUN➤perception深度覺PREPOSITION➤at depth在深處◇The camera must be strong enough to resist the immense water pressure at depth.攝像機一定要足夠堅固,以抵禦深水處強大的水壓。➤at a depth of, from a depth of, to a depth of在/從/到⋯的深度◇These fish are found at a depth of over 300 feet.這些魚生活在水深超過 300 英尺的地方。➤at a... depth, from a... depth, to a... depth在⋯的深度;從⋯的深度;到⋯的深度◇The clam burrows in the sand to a considerable depth.蛤蜊在沙裏挖的洞穴相當深。➤out of your depth (BrE) 水深沒頂◇I don't like going out of my depth in the sea.我不喜歡到海中水深沒頂的深處。PHRASES➤the depths, the depths of the ocean, the depths of the sea (especially BrE) 深處;大洋深處;大海深處◇sharks lurking in the murky depths潛伏在陰暗深處的鯊魚➤the ocean depths深海depth
noun²
2of feelings, knowledge, etc.情感;知識ADJECTIVE | VERB + DEPTH | PREPOSITION | PHRASESADJECTIVE➤considerable, great相當/非常高深◇Younger students cannot be expected to have great depth of understanding.不能期求年輕學生有很深刻的理解力。➤black, dark深淵◇the dark depths of despair絕望的深淵➤hidden, unexpected隱蔽的/意料之外的深處◇I suspect she has hidden depths.我懷疑她深藏不露。◇the unexpected depth of his feelings for her他對她意想不到的深情➤emotional感情深度◇music of great emotional depth飽含深情的音樂VERB + DEPTH➤plumb, plunge to, reach直達/陷入/到達深處◇The story plumbed the depths of tabloid journalism.這個故事完全迎合了小報的低級趣味。➤lack缺乏深度◇It lacks the complexity or depth of his best movies.這部電影缺少他最好的那些電影所擁有的複雜性或深刻性。➤add, give, provide增加/賦予/給予深度▸➤have有深度▸➤reveal, show展現/顯示深度◇Her paintings reveal hidden depths.她的畫作透露出隱含的洞察力。PREPOSITION➤in depth深入地◇I studied phonology in depth at college.我在大學裏深入學習了音系學。➤out of your depth非⋯所能理解◇The writer seems a little out of her depth when dealing with the emotional issue involved.在處理所涉及到的情感問題時這位女作家顯得有點兒力不從心。➤depths of⋯的深淵◇The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒絕使她陷入了絕望的深淵。PHRASES➤depth of emotion, depth of feeling強烈的情感/感情◇The demonstration showed the depth of feeling against the war.示威遊行顯示了人們強烈的反戰情緒。