posthumous ADJ. /身后的;遗腹的(书出版于作者死后，孩子生于父亲死后)/after death (as of child born after father's death
or book published after author's death). The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last novel that they recognized his great talent.
postulate N. /前提;基于的假定/essential premise; underlying assumption. The basic postulate of democracy, set forth in the Declaration of Independence, is that all men are created equal.
potable ADJ. /可饮用的/suitable for drinking. The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic states has emphasized the need for extensive research in ways of making sea water potable. also N.
potent ADJ. /有效的/powerful; persuasive; greatly influential. Looking at the expiration date on the cough syrup bottle, we wondered whether the medication would still be potent. potency, N.
potentate N. /当权者/monarch; sovereign. The potentate spent more time at Monte Carlo than he did at home on his throne.
potential ADJ. /潜在的/expressing possibility; latent. This juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer. also N. potion N. /剂量/dose (of liquid). Tristan and Isolde drink a love potion in the first act of the opera.
practicable ADJ. /可行的/feasible. The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project.
practical ADJ. /有用的;经验的;实践证明的/based on experience; useful. He was a practical man, opposed to theory.
practitioner N. /从业者/someone engaged in a profession (law, medicine). In need of a hip replacement, Carl sought a practitioner with considerable experience performing this particular surgery.
pragmatic ADJ. /实际的;注重实效的/practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something. This coming trip to France should provide me with a pragmatic test of the value of my conversational French class.
pragmatist N. /爱管闲事的人;实用主义者/practical person. No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game he can never win.
prank N. /胡闹;打扮/mischievous trick. Is tipping over garbage cans on Halloween merely a childish prank, or is it vandalism?
prate V. /空谈/speak foolishly; boast idly. Let us not prate about our good qualities; rather, let our virtues speak for themselves.
prattle V. /闲聊;胡说;废话;唠叨/babble. Baby John prattled on and on about the cats and his ball and the Cookie
Monster.
preamble N. /导言;介绍词/introductory statement. In the Preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth.
precarious ADJ. /不确定的;冒风险/uncertain; risky. Saying the stock would be a precarious investment, the broker advised her client against purchasing it.
precedent N. /先例/something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action. If I buy you a car for your sixteenth birthday, your brothers will want me to buy them cars when they turn sixteen, too; I can't afford to set such an expensive precedent. The law professor asked Jill to state which famous case served as a precedent for the court's decision in Brown ll.
Word List 37 precept-propitiate
precept N. /规则/practical rule guiding conduct. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept.
precinct N. /行政区/district or division of a city. Ed McBain's detective novels set in the 87th precinct provide an exciting picture of police work.
precipice N. /悬崖;危险的位臵/cliff; dangerous position. Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.
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