discrepancy /dis'krepansi/ noun (pi. -ies) [C, u] ~ (in sth) | ~ (between A and B) a difference between two or more things that should be the same    A

— Kt: wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work Hjj&If^Eftjf'ffr tb A^BA 0 What are the reasons for the discrepancy between girls’ and boys’ performance in school?

discrete /di'skriit/ adj. (formal or technical AiH) inde­pendent of other things of the same type       ; 5 A

tm®-,       bm separate: The organisms can be

divided into discrete categories. i£Eft#^0 dis*crete*ly adv. discrete-ness noun [U] discretion /di'skrejn/ noun [U] 1 the freedom or power to decide what should be done in a particular situation I It M W § A ; i fr ^ U: /’H leave it up to you to use your discretion.

pftAAo 0 How much to tell terminally ill patients is left to the discretion of the doctor.   83 #A ift jpi1f it A

A E A S    2 care in what you say or

do, in order to keep sth secret or to avoid causing embarrassment to or difficulty for sb; the quality of being discreet ilfl; Mi; AtA This is confidential, but I know that I can rely on your discretion. H #1 , A H $0 il Ifc fM# ft 0 — compare indiscretion o note at care IT»TC1 at sb’s di scretion according to what sb decides or wishes to do A^Affilfti&AE-; SI ^ A Eft M iE: Bail is granted at the discretion of the court. AIA!S/AAE?£Af£Po 0 There is no service charge and tipping is at your discretion. A t|jt A^Aft discretion is the .better part of

valour (saying) you should avoid danger and not take unnecessary risks H-Rgp AH; tMEA^i&AA discre-tionary /di'skrejanari; NAmE -neri/ adj. [usually before noun] (formaf) decided according to the judge­ment of a person in authority about what is necessary in each particular situation; not decided by rules ft A You may be eligible for a discretionary grant for your university course. i^A

dis crim in ate /di'skrimineit/ verb 1 ~ (between A and

B) | ~ A from B to recognize that there is a difference between people or things; to show a difference between people or things E #] ; I# £1] ; E # cnm DIFFERENTIATE, DISTINGUISH : [V] The computer

program was unable to discriminate between letters and numbers. HiflMJUlJ* A IB        0 [VN]

When do babies learn to discriminate voices? HJL'ff A# M1]   %? 0 A number of features discriminate

this species from others.

#E|l]?f^o 2 [V] ~ (against sb) | ~ (in favour of sb) to

treat one person or group worse/better than another in an unfair way E$ijM'if; JftM; fifi: practices that discriminate against women and in favour of men Jr fj $5 A Eft ft 0 It is illegal to discriminate on grounds of

race, sex or religion. 0#^,      II

»ftlfto

dis crim in at ing /di'skrimineitir)/ adj. (approving) able to judge the good quality of sth       A Iff3'J A

Eft; ft A Eft discerning : a discriminating audience/customer W^ltA       / Mft

discrimination /di.skrimi'neij'n/ noun 1  [u]

~ (against sb) | ~ (in favour of sb) the practice of treating sb or a particular group in society less fairly than others E   J&I1; ISIS: age/racial/sex/

sexual discrimination (= because of sb’s age, race or sex) A#/ #;&£/ ttljl]J$$! 0 discrimination against the elderly tftlAo discrimination in favour of the young W A $£ A 0 discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, or sexual orientation g0 ft

ft E £'] ft" I# — see also positive discrimination 2 [u] (approving) the ability to judge what is good, true, etc. iR j]ij A ; Iff £i] A ;   & A ettci discernment : He

showed great discrimination in his choice of friends. ftfeft 3 (formal) [U, C] the ability to recog­nize a difference between one thing and another; a difference that is recognized E AU; IS M ; Iff tA : to learn discrimination between right and wrong ft Aftlff IMP 0 fine discriminations E#1]

| 569

discrim in atory /di'skriminatari; NAmE di'skrimina- to:ri/ adj. unfair; treating sb or one group of people worse than others E Sfl M ft Eft ; A A IE tt ft: discriminatory practices/rules/measures A A IE Eft # ft / Mae / IhMl 0 sexually/racially discriminatory laws

dis cur sive /dis'k3isiv; NAmE -'k3irs-/ adj. (of a style of writing or speaking Affile P AAftftA) moving from one point to another without any strict structure

Hilt Eft; ^ M Eft; A H Pf Eft: the discursive style of the novel

dis cus /'diskas/ noun 1 [C] a heavy flat round object thrown in a sporting event   ) 2 the

discus [sing.] the event or sport of throwing a discus as far as possible

dis cuss Ot* /di'skAs/ verb 1 ~ sth (with sb) to talk about sth with sb, especially in order to decide sth   i&i&i [VN] Have you

discussed the problem with anyone?

IS®, ? o I’m not prepared to discuss this on the phone.

0 [V wh-] We need to discuss when we should go. $ fl'J fr ^ it • r T ff ^ ft'f fg Al ^ o 0 [V -ing] We briefly discussed buying a second car. ]#.

[aisovN-ingicma you cannot say ‘discuss about sth’: I discussed about my problem with my parents. Look also at discussion. At £ discuss about sth 0 A# I discussed about my problem with my parents. A JE discussion 0        2 to write or talk

about sth in detail, showing the different ideas and opinions about it #   ; iE jiA: [VN] This topic will be

discussed at greater length in the next chapter. HAM i [also V wh-]

dis-cus-sion CHI /di'skAjn/ noun [U, C]

1 ~ (with sb) (about/on sb/sth) the process of discussing sb/sth; a conversation about sb/sth if A ; iff : a topic/subject for discussion            0 After

considerable discussion, they decided to accept our offer. % m & & & vm & £ m         MM o o The plans

have been under discussion (= being talked about) for a year now.        ATo 0 Discussions are

still taking place between the two leaders.

0 We had a discussion with them about the differences between Britain and the US. ffl fMJ vfik T^HMS^A[ffIH^iio 2 ~ (of sth) a speech or a piece of writing that discusses many different aspects of a subject       i&H: Her article is a discussion of the

methods used in research.

#3 Eft AH0 o note on next page

disdain /dis'dein/ noun, verb

noun [U, sing.] ~ (for sb/sth) the feeling that sb/sth is not good enough to deserve your respect or attention SP M ; M11; SP ff H771 contempt : to treat sb with disdain SMl^A o a disdain for the law

mverb (formal) 1 [VN] to think that sb/sth is not good enough to deserve your respect fpl; Mil; IP A: She disdained his offer of help.        M3UMSP

ff0 2 [V to inf] to refuse to do sth because you think that you are too important to do it AH (      ) : He

disdained to turn to his son for advice, fife AH Aft i

JLAitmo

disdainful /dis'demfl/ adj. ~ (of sb/sth) showing disdain SPUlft;            HT1 contemptuous,

dismissive: She’s always been disdainful of people who haven’t been to college. M & H Si A® 5P^ A A0 ► dis-dain-fuMy /-fali/ adv. dis-ease tHr /di'ziiz/ noun [U, C]

1 an illness affecting humans, animals or plants, often caused by infection-f^j; -f^d: heartAiver/kidney, etc. disease flft ^ , If ^ H ^ # '0 health measures to prevent the spread of disease ®6j5f3£^f£jtEftfRMJtifc 0 an infectious/contagious disease (= one that can be passed to sb very easily)

not known what causes the disease. H#^lft^B[IIA^0 0 protection against sexually transmitted diseases '(4# I# lE^ W MPA O He suffers from a rare blood disease, fife,#, #AJEEftlfil?l[t^jo o vocabulary notes on pages