友情提示：看不懂音变的同学请听203-206期

fragile break-frag
Easily broken, damaged, or destroyed; frail.
Lacking physical or emotional strength; delicate.
Lacking substance; tenuous or flimsy
adj. 脆的；易碎的

例句：
The old lady was increasingly fragile after her operation.
那位老太太手术后身体越来越虚弱。

fragment
A small part broken off or detached.
An incomplete or isolated portion; a bit: overheard fragments of their conversation; extant fragments of an old manuscript.
Grammar. A sentence fragment.
To break or separate (something) into fragments.
To become broken into fragments
n. 碎片；片断或不完整部分
vt. 使成碎片
vi. 破碎或裂开

frangible
Capable of being broken; breakable.
adj. 脆弱的，易碎的

infringe

词汇起源
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: infringere, from frangere 'to break']

To transgress or exceed the limits of; violate: infringe a contract; infringe a patent.
Obsolete. To defeat; invalidate.
To encroach on someone or something; engage in trespassing
vt. 侵犯；违反；破坏
vi. 侵犯；侵害

例句：
He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.
他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。
The media is accused of infringing on people’s privacy.
人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。

fringe brim边缘

词汇起源
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin fimbria 'threads']

early 14c., from O.Fr. frenge "thread, strand, fringe, hem" (early 14c.), from V.L. *frimbia, metathesis of L. fimbriae (pl.) "fibers, threads, fringe," of uncertain origin.

A decorative border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips, often attached to a separate band.
Something that resembles such a border or edging.
A marginal, peripheral, or secondary part
Those members of a group or political party holding extreme views: the lunatic fringe.
Any of the light or dark bands produced by the diffraction or interference of light.
To decorate with or as if with a fringe
To serve as a fringe to
n. 边缘；穗；刘海;见解偏激的人
adj. 边缘的；附加的
vt. 加穗于

例句：
They put up tents on the fringes of the woods.
他们在树林边缘搭起帐篷。
They like to hang out on the geographical fringes, the seedy outposts(&b{James Atlas})
他们喜欢去偏僻地区和肮脏的偏远村落(詹姆斯·阿特拉斯)

词源小故事

amazon n. 魁梧女子,男子气的高大女子，女战士

Word History: In classical legend the Amazons were a tribe of warrior women. Their name is supposedly derived from Greek a-mazos, “without a breast,” because according to the legend they cut off their right breasts so as to be better able to shoot with a bow and arrow. This folk etymology, like most folk etymologies, is incorrect, but the Amazons of legend are not so completely different from the historical Amazons, who were also warriors. The historical Amazons were Scythians, an Iranian people renowned for their cavalry. The first Greeks to come into contact with the Iranians were the Ionians, who lived on the coast of Asia Minor and were constantly threatened by the Persians, the most important of the Iranian peoples. Amazōn is the Ionian Greek form of the Iranian word ha-mazan, “fighting together.” The regular Greek form would be hamazōn, but because the Ionians dropped their aitches like Cockneys, hamazōn became amazōn, the form taken into the other Greek dialects.

在古希腊神话中Amazons乃居住于黑海沿岸（小亚细亚或亚速海滨）一带的女人族。为繁衍后代她们定期同邻族男人结合，然后再把男人送走，生下男孩送归其父（一说杀死或弄成残废），生下女孩则留下练习武艺。Amazons骁勇，善骑射。据古代传说，Amazons为了便于拉弓射箭女孩的右乳都被烙掉。一般认为，Amazon一词源于希腊语a ‘without'（没有）加mazos'breast'（乳房），在希腊语中的原义是无乳者。然而词源学的这一考证未必可靠。在古希腊罗马的造型艺术中，Amazons的形象是肌肉丰满体态健美的美妇，并无残缺痕迹。有关Amazons的神话很多，在中世纪流传甚广。Amazons和希腊人打过许多仗，曾助特洛伊人作战。据有些记载，南美洲第一大河Amazon（亚马孙河）也是据此得名的。1541年西班牙探险家奥雷拉纳（Francisco de Orellana）声称曾在这条河上遭一女人部族袭击，故而将此河命名为Amazon。