Don't people hesitate at all to kill anyone? A group of three men, who got to know one another on an underground website, kidnapped a female passer-by in Nagoya city and cruelly killed her. It seriously impacted society. Nothing is more merciless than cospiring to rob someone innocent of their money and belongings and murdering them. Above all, surprisingly, the men, complete strangers to one another, indiscreetly colluded to rob and kill the woman. Their mercilessness is bloodcurdling. Just thinking of potential criminals of this kind is eerie. So is the unexpected availability of the Internet, which created such murderers. Potential criminals could ingeniously misuse the Internet, abundant with anonymous or pseudonymous information. They are hardly indentifiable and leave almost no proof. They can also network with unspecified Internet users in a short time, irrespective of space and time. The faceless exchange of opinions and arguments causes moral degeneration and escaltes into their reinforcement whether they are genuine or not. Some people cannot help committing crimes because there is no way out of inextricable situations. This may have a common hotbed with frequent occurrence of group suicide. [Vocabulary] the general public noun [sing.+ sing./pl. v.] ordinary people who are not members of a particular group or organization: At that time, the general public was / were not aware of the health risks. The exhibition is not open to the general public irrespective of prep. without considering sth or being influenced by it regardless of: Everyone is treated equally, irrespective of race. The weekly rent is the same irrespective of whether there are three or four occupants. conspire verb 1 [v] ~ (with sb) (against sb)| ~ (together) to secretly plan with other people to do sth illegal or harmful: They were accused of conspiring against the king. They deny conspiring together to smuggle drugs. She admitted conspiring with her lover to murder her husband. 2 ~ against sb/sth| ~ to do sth (of events) to seem to work together to make sth bad happen: [v] Circumstances had conspired against them. [v to inf] Everything conspired to make her life a misery. collude verb [v] ~ (with sb) (in sth / in doing sth)| ~ (with sb) (to do sth) (formal, disapproving) to work together secretly or illegally in order to trick other people: Several people had colluded in the murder. They colluded with terrorists to overthrow the government. potential adj., noun adj. [only before noun] that can develop into sth or be developed in the future possible: potential customers a potential source of conflict the potential benefits of European integration a potential prime minister First we need to identify actual and potential problems. potentially adv.: a potentially dangerous situation temporary adj. lasting or intended to last or be used only for a short time; not permanent: temporary relief from pain I’m looking for some temporary work. They had to move into temporary accommodation. a temporary measure / solution / arrangement More than half the staff are temporary. permanent temporarily adv.: We regret this service is temporarily unavailable. temporariness noun [U] faceless adj. [usually before noun] (disapproving) having no noticeable characteristics or identity: faceless bureaucrats faceless high-rise apartment blocks degeneration noun [U] the process of becoming worse or less acceptable in quality or condition: social / moral degeneration Intensive farming in the area has caused severe degeneration of the land. Speech degeneration often occurs in children who become deaf after acquiring language true adj. (WORD FAMILY: true adj. untrue | truth noun untruth | truthful adj. untruthful | truly adv. | truism noun ) adj. (truer, tru?est) CORRECT 1 connected with facts rather than things that have been invented or guessed: Indicate whether the following statements are true or false. Is it true she’s leaving? Can you prove that what you say is true? All the rumours turned out to be true. I think it would be true to say that the show was a success. That’s not strictly (= completely) true. The novel is based on a true story. His excuse just doesn’t ring (= sound) true. Unfortunately, these findings do not hold true (= are not valid) for women and children. The music is dull and uninspiring, and the same is true of the acting. You never spoke a truer word (= used to emphasize that you agree with what sb has just said). untrue REAL 2 real or exact, especially when this is different from how sth seems: the true face of socialism (= what it is really like rather than what people think it is like) The true cost of these experiments to the environment will not be known for years to come. He reveals his true character to very few people. 3 [usually before noun] having the qualities or characteristics of the thing mentioned: It was true love between them. He’s a true gentleman. The painting is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word. He is credited with inventing the first true helicopter. ADMITTING FACT 4 used to admit that a particular fact or statement is correct, although you think that sth else is more important: It’s true that he could do the job, but would he fit in with the rest of the team? ‘We could get it cheaper.’ ‘True, but would it be as good?’ LOYAL 5 ~ (to sb/sth) showing respect and support for a particular person or belief in a way that does not change, even in different situations: a true friend She has always been true to herself (= done what she thought was good, right, etc.). He was true to his word (= did what he promised to do). Many were executed for remaining true to their principles. Knights swore to be true to their lord. ACCURATE 6 ~ (to sth) being an accurate version or copy of sth: The movie is not true to the book. The painting is a true likeness of her. 7 [not usually before noun] (old-fashioned or literary) straight and accurate: His aim was true (= he hit the target). sincere adj. (superlative sincerest, no comparative) 1 (of feelings, beliefs or behaviour) showing what you really think or feel genuine: a sincere attempt to resolve the problem sincere regret Please accept our sincere thanks. a sincere apology 2 ~ (in sth) (of a person) saying only what you really think or feel honest: He seemed sincere enough when he said he wanted to help. She is never completely sincere in what she says about people. insincere sincerity /snserti/ noun [U]: The sincerity of his beliefs is unquestionable. She spoke with total sincerity. I can say in all sincerity that I knew nothing of these plans. genuine /denjun/ adj. 1 real; exactly what it appears to be; not artificial authentic: Is the painting a genuine Picasso? Fake designer watches are sold at a fraction of the price of the genuine article. Only genuine refugees can apply for asylum. 2 sincere and honest; that can be trusted: He made a genuine attempt to improve conditions. genuine concern for others a very genuine person genuinely adv.: genuinely sorry genuineness noun [U] argument noun 1 [C, U] ~ (with sb) (about / over sth) a conversation or discussion in which two or more people disagree, often angrily: We had an argument with the waiter about the bill. She got into an argument with the teacher. to win / lose an argument After some heated argument a decision was finally taken. 2 [C] ~ (for / against sth)| ~ (that ... ) a reason or set of reasons that sb uses to show that sth is true or correct: There are strong arguments for and against euthanasia. His argument was that public spending must be reduced. Her main argument was a moral one. 3 [U] ~ (about sth) the act of disagreeing in a conversation or discussion using a reason or set of reasons: Let’s assume for the sake of argument (= in order to discuss the problem) that we can’t start till March. escalate verb ~ (sth) (into sth) to become or make sth greater, worse, more serious, etc.: [v] The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. the escalating costs of health care [vn] We do not want to escalate the war. escalation noun [C, U]: an escalation in food prices further escalation of the conflict eerie adj. strange, mysterious and frightening uncanny: an eerie yellow light I found the silence underwater really eerie. uncanny adj. strange and difficult to explain weird: I had an uncanny feeling I was being watched. It was uncanny really, almost as if she knew what I was thinking. He has an uncanny knack of being able to see immediately where the problem lies. uncannily adv.: He looked uncannily like someone I knew. hotbed noun [usually sing.] ~ of sth a place where a lot of a particular activity, especially sth bad or violent, is happening: The area was a hotbed of crime ingenious adj. 1 (of an object, a plan, an idea, etc.) very suitable for a particular purpose and resulting from clever new ideas: an ingenious device ingenious ways of saving energy His plots are always very ingenious. 2 (of a person) having a lot of clever new ideas and good at inventing things: an ingenious cook She’s very ingenious when it comes to finding excuses. ingeniously adv.: ingeniously designed plot 1 ~ (with sb) (against sb) to make a secret plan to harm sb, especially a government or its leader conspire: [v] They were accused of plotting against the state. [vn] Military officers were suspected of plotting a coup. She spends every waking hour plotting her revenge. [v to inf] They were plotting to overthrow the government. 2 [vn] ~ sth (on sth) to mark sth on a map, for example the position or course of sth: The earthquake centres had been plotted on a world map. He plotted a new route across the Atlantic. 3 [vn] ~ sth (on sth) to make a diagram or chart from some information: We carefully plotted each patient’s response to the drug on a chart. 4 [vn] ~ sth (on sth) to mark points on a graph and draw a line or curve connecting them: First, plot the temperature curve on the graph. 5 [vn] to write the plot of a novel, play, etc.: a tightly-plotted thriller resistance noun 1 [U, sing.] ~ (to sb/sth) dislike of or opposition to a plan, an idea, etc.; refusal to obey: As with all new ideas it met with resistance. There has been a lot of resistance to this new law. Resistance to change has nearly destroyed the industry. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictoinary (OALD) |
