ground1 /ɡraʊnd/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 DNearth 地面LAND/GROUND [uncountableU] a) the surface of the Earth 地,地面the ground The leaves were slowly fluttering to the ground. 树叶慢慢飘落到地上。
He lay on the ground and stared up at the sky. 他躺在地上仰望天空。
The ground was frozen solid. 大地冻实了。
above/below/under ground At night, badgers feed above ground. 夜间,獾来到地面上觅食。
These youngsters work 70 metres below ground level. 这些年轻人在地下70米作业。
A raised platform stood two metres off the ground. 一个凸起的平台离地面有两米高。
The air raids were followed by military action on the ground (=on land). 空袭之后是地面军事行动。
ground troops (=soldiers who fight on land) 地面部队
b) the soil on and under the surface of the Earth 土地,土壤 Dig the ground over in the autumn. 秋天的时候翻土。
Plant the seeds 2 cm deep in the ground. 把种子栽入两厘米深的地里。
The ground was dry, far too dry for growing corn. 土地太干,干得无法种庄稼。
→4 See picture of 见图 ground 2 LAND/GROUNDarea of land 场地 a) [uncountableU] an area of land without buildings, fences, woods etc 〔无建筑物、栅栏或树木的〕空地 The landscape is a mixture of open ground and woodland. 这一带有空地,也有林区。
They were standing on the waste ground (=land in a town that is not being used) behind the car park. 他们站在停车场后面的荒地上。
b) [countableC] (also grounds [plural]) an area of land or sea that is used for a particular purpose 〔某种用途的〕场地parade/hunting/burial etc ground These fields served as a hunting ground for the local people. 这些田地被用作当地人的狩猎场。
The rivers are used as dumping grounds for industrial waste. 这些河流被用作倾倒工业废料的地方。
He is buried in sacred ground. 他被安葬在神圣的土地上。
→ playground(1) c) grounds [plural] the land or gardens surrounding a large building 〔大型建筑物周围的〕场地,庭园 We decided to take a stroll in the hotel grounds. 我们决定在酒店的庭院里散散步。
3 REASON 理由grounds [plural] a good reason for doing, believing, or saying something 充分的理由,根据grounds for (doing) something Mental cruelty can be grounds for divorce. 精神折磨可以作为离婚的理由。
There are strong grounds for believing his statement. 有充分的理由可以相信他的话。
have grounds to do something Did the police have reasonable grounds to arrest him? 警方有充分的理由逮捕他吗?
on moral/legal/medical etc grounds The proposal was rejected on environmental grounds. 这个提议出于环保的原因被否决。
on (the) grounds of something Flying was ruled out on grounds of cost. 因费用的缘故而不考虑乘飞机。
‘You’re under arrest.’ ‘On what grounds?’ “你被捕了。”“理由是什么?”
on the grounds that We oppose the bill, on the grounds that it discriminates against women. 我们反对这个议案,理由是它歧视女性。
4 subject 话题 [uncountableU]KNOW something a subject or area of knowledge 话题;知识领域 At meetings, we just keep going over the same ground (=talking about the same things). 开会时我们只是反复谈论同一个话题。
His latest movie looks set to break new ground (=introduce new and exciting ideas). 他最新的影片看来会有新的突破。
familiar/home ground (=a subject etc that you know something about) 熟悉的话题 In his latest book, McManus returns to more familiar ground. 麦克马纳斯在他最近的著作中又回到了较熟悉的话题上。
5 opinion 观点 [uncountableU] a general opinion or set of attitudes 观点,立场 Often parents and teenagers find they have little common ground (=they do not share the same attitudes etc). 家长和十几岁的青少年往往会发现他们之间鲜有共同的观点。
the middle/centre ground (=opinions that are not extreme that most people would agree with) 中间立场 Both parties are battling to occupy the centre ground. 两党都在争取占领中间阵地。
Careful, Laura. You could be treading on dangerous ground (=expressing opinions etc that might offend someone). 小心啊,劳拉,你的观点可能会冒犯到某些人。
Each side was unwilling to give ground (=change their opinion). 各方都不愿作出让步。
6 sport 运动 [countableC] British EnglishBrE the place where a particular sport is played 运动场 → stadium a new football ground 新建的足球场
It’s their first defeat at their home ground (=the ground that belongs to a particular team) all season. 这是他们在整个赛季中第一次主场失利。
7 hold/stand your ground CHANGE YOUR MIND a) to stay where you are when someone threatens you, in order to show them that you are not afraid 坚守阵地,不退缩 The men threatened him, but he stood his ground and they fled. 那些人威胁他,但是他没有退却,他们便溜走了。
b) to refuse to change your mind about something, even though people are opposing you 坚持自己的立场 Jason vowed to stand his ground, even if it meant losing his job. 贾森发誓哪怕是丢掉工作也要坚守立场。
hold/stand your ground• The Housing Executive stood its ground and refused to transfer money earmarked for other projects.• The guide, however, stood his ground, frantically giving me unrecognizable signs.• I calculate, I stand my ground.• Not enough to start a war; just enough to let me stand my ground without having to think about it first.• Richmann stood his ground, certain he would be able to jump out of the. way if things went wrong.• As his father approached, Richard retreated steadily, never once daring to stand his ground against him.• Williams' job was to hold his ground or drop into pass coverage.• You know when to stand your ground and when to give in. 8 get off the ground SUCCESSFULto start to be successful 开始获得成功,取得进展 Her show never really got off the ground in the UK. 她的节目在英国一直没有火起来。
9 gain ground a) ADVANTAGEto become more successful 取得优势,变得更成功 It was feared that the extreme right would gain ground in the election. 人们担心极右翼势力会在选举中得势。
b) RIGHT/PROPERif an idea, belief etc gains ground, more people start to accept it 〔主张、信仰等〕普及,流行 His theories gradually gained ground among academics. 他的理论渐渐被学者们接受了。
c) to get closer to someone or something that you are competing with 追上,赶上〔竞争对手〕 gain ground• Martin also gained ground on Gordon, finishing sixth and moving within 87 points.• The fierce campaign by several anti-Maastricht movements has been gaining ground.• Nationalism has gained ground to the extent that it has begun to claim mainstream status.• For once, the index gained ground despite a decline in shares of Vodafone, the market's biggest stock.• Dole feels that Forbes is gaining ground.• The trend gained ground in the United States, where early symphony audiences ached to exude social refinement.• He was gaining ground on all of them, he had the beating of them yet.
10 lose ground SUCCESSFULto become less successful compared with someone or something you are competing with 失去优势,失利 The Indian team seem determined to regain the ground they lost in the last game. 印度队在上一场比赛中失利,这次似乎下定决心要扳回一城。
11 breeding/fertile/proving ground a situation in which something develops quickly or successfully 沃土,滋生地 The region, with its widespread poverty, provided fertile ground for revolutionary activists. 这个地区普遍贫困,是产生革命活动家的沃土。
prepare/lay the ground (=to provide the situation or conditions in which something can develop successfully) 做准备,打基础
breeding/fertile/proving ground for My task was to prepare the ground for the recruitment of support workers. 我的任务是为支援人员招聘做准备工作。
12 burn/raze something to the ground to destroy a city, building etc completely by fire, bombs etc 把某物烧成平地/夷为平地 The city of Tortona was burnt to the ground. 托尔托纳城被焚为平地。
13 work/drive/run yourself into the ground WORK HARDto work so hard that you become very tired or ill 使自己筋疲力尽,把自己累垮 Kay’s working herself into the ground trying to meet her deadlines. 凯在拼命工作,想如期完成任务。
work/drive/run yourself into the ground• But don't drive yourself into the ground.• They ran themselves into the ground, ran Chesterfield off the pitch, but they couldn't get another goal.• I tried working myself into the ground, but I could be totally exhausted and still remember.• I've already explained to you how I've worked myself into the ground setting up the interview.• Mitchell and White ran themselves into the ground and Nicky Summerbee tried everything he could to get a goal. 14 on the ground HEREin the place or situation where something important is happening, rather than somewhere else – used especially in news reports 在现场〔指重大事件发生的现场;尤用于新闻报道〕 While the politicians talk of peace, the situation on the ground remains tense. 政客们在大谈和平的时候,战场局势依然紧张。
15 stamping ground British EnglishBrE, stomping ground American English informal someone’s stamping ground is an area where they are known or have a lot of influence 〔某人的〕势力范围,有影响力的地方 I guess he’ll try to reach his old stomping ground to drum up support. 我猜他是想到他的老地盘去争取支持。
17 grounds [plural]DFD small pieces of solid material that sink to the bottom of a liquid 沉淀物,渣滓 18 go to ground British EnglishBrEHIDE/MAKE IT HARD TO FIND OR SEE to make it hard for people to find you 躲避 The man has gone to ground since his photograph was published in a national newspaper. 自从照片上了一家全国性的报纸以后,那人就销声匿迹了。
19. run somebody/something to ground British EnglishBrE to succeed in finding someone or something after a long search 费尽周折找到某人/某物run somebody/something to ground• Badminton: Hall runs Baddeley to ground. 20. background 背景 [countableC] technical the colour used as the background for a design 〔设计图的〕底色,背景 → cut the ground from under somebody’s feet at cut1(37), → have/keep both feet on the ground at foot1(18), → suit somebody down to the ground at suit2(1), → be thin on the ground at thin1(12), → hit the ground running at hit1(24) THESAURUSthe ground the surface of the Earth, or the soil on its surface 地面;土壤;土地He collapsed and fell to the ground. 他瘫倒在地上。
The ground was wet and muddy. 地上潮湿泥泞。
the ocean/forest/cave etc floor the ground at the bottom of the ocean, a forest, a cave etc 大洋底/森林的地面/洞底等Many wonderful creatures live on the ocean floor. 许多奇妙的生物生活在大洋之底。
land used when talking about an area of ground that is owned by someone, or is used for an activity. Also used when talking about the part of the Earth’s surface that is not covered with water 〔某人拥有的〕土地;〔某种活动的〕用地;陆地His family owns a lot of land. 他家拥有大量土地。
She got off the ferry, happy to be back on dry land. 她从渡船上下来,很高兴又回到了陆地上。
terrain a type of land – used when talking about how easy an area of land is to cross, and whether it is rocky, flat etc 地形,地势The Land Rover is built to go over rough terrain. 路虎是为穿越崎岖地形而设计的。
The terrain gets flatter when you go further south. 越往南地势越平坦。
earth/soil the substance that plants grow in 土壤,泥土The vegetables were still covered in black soil. 这些蔬菜上还带着黑土。
mud wet earth 烂泥Your shoes are covered in mud. 你的鞋上全是烂泥。