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- 01.What does "rub" mean here?
"The rub" is British slang meaning "the problem". This slang is specific to Great Britain and is not understood by most Americans.
- 02.Is it same if I change the "shades" to "curtains"?
"Shades" and "curtains" are slightly different. "Curtains" are long panels of soft material that are drawn from side to side, whereas "shades" are long panels of material that roll up from top to bottom. "Blinds" are another type of window covering similar to "shades," but they have folds or consist of multiple slats of material that can lay flat to block out sunlight. In this case, you cannot change "shades" to "curtains" as they are different items. Ex: Can you roll up the shades? Ex: Can you draw the curtains?
- 03.Could you tell me what the "International Tax System" means? So, I suppose multiple countries are committed to an intergovernmental pact to organize a globalized version of IRS?
I believe it refers to how different tax systems work in different countries, which probably have to keep track of to make sure everyone complies. So, even if countries have different systems, with so much travel and immigration, they probably have to have policies in place to maintain it. Ex: If I teach English overseas, I still have to make sure I'm paying tax to my country. Ex: Do you know what the international tax policies are with immigrating and working remotely?
- 04.Can I say "near" instead of "close?"
No, I wouldn't suggest it! "Near" is interchangeable with "close" in relation to distance and physical spaces, but if you're talking about abstract ideas and other things that aren't easily measured physically, then "close" is best to use. Or, if it were an affirmative sentence, "nearly" would also be good to use. Ex: The house is near the ocean. = The house is close to the ocean. Ex: I'm very close to my friend. => emotional connection Ex: She nearly won the competition.
- 05.Can I use "of" instead of "on" here?
No, it would sound unnatural to replace the preposition "on" with "of" here. There is not really a rule for this since English prepositions are very idiomatic. However, whenever there is research done or a study that is conducted, the preposition used to indicate the subject of the research is "on" and never "of". Ex: The professor does research on whale genetics. Ex: A five-year study was conducted on the health effects of vaping.
- 06.Why is the rehearsal so important?
The rehearsal is important because they need to know what to do when they're actually shooting the scene so as to not waste time or get anything wrong, especially with stunts like levitating. It means they'll be fully prepared when they shoot the scene. I assume getting all the cameras to the site, and renting it, would mean they have a time limit.
- 07.What does "bi-racial" mean?
"Bi-racial" means being born of parents from two different racial groups. So someone who is "bi-racial" is of mixed race and is a combination of normally two different races. Ex: She's bi-racial. She's half Chinese and half Italian.
- 08.What does "pause" mean? In what circumstances could I use it?
"Pause" means a temporary stop or interruption of actions or words. Here, "pause" carries the nuance of taking a break and relaxing after being busy and going places. It can also be a temporary stop or interruption of videos or music on electronic devices. You can use the word pause to indicate that you want to take a break from something, to indicate a brief stop in an activity, or with electronics! Ex: I paused the movie to talk to my friend. Ex: Let's pause for a moment. I need to catch my breath. => physical activity or exercise Ex: You need to take time to pause in your week. => take a break
- 09.What does "avoiding mistletoe" mean?
There is a western Christmas tradition where if you stand under "mistletoe" - mistletoe is a plant - you kiss the person you're standing with. People hang up mistletoe around their house during Christmas parties, like under doorways, and at random places, as something fun. So in this case, she wants to "avoid mistletoe" to avoid kissing people! Ex: Are you hanging up mistletoe, Oliver? That won't help you get a girlfriend. Ex: They kissed under the mistletoe that night.
- 010.What does "Mother of God" mean?
"Mother of God" is an exclamation used when something unbelievable or unexpected happens. Ex: Mother of God, you scared me!
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Here, "Consign" means to assign or commit permanently. And you're right. It doesn't have a very positive meaning here, since it implies that the item will never be used and kept in the closet forever. Other meanings of "consign" include: delivering something to someone's custody, or to send goods by a carrier. Ex: I consigned my birthday cards to the third drawer of my dressing table. Ex: I'm consigning one of my artworks to the gallery in town. Ex: The package has been consigned to a courier. It'll arrive tomorrow!
Unfortunately, "after eight hours" by itself can't be used because it is not specific enough. The phrase "in eight hours" means "after eight hours from now". Only using "after eight hours" could refer to that eight-hour time frame beginning at any time. An example of how you could use the phrase "after eight hours" is, "After eight hours of sleep, I feel refreshed."
Yes, in this case you can replace "entirely" with "all". Both "all" and "entirely" are adverbs and they have very similar meanings, so you can often use them interchangeably. However, "entirely" is a bit more formal and can more strongly emphasize that something is complete, whereas "all" does not have the same emphasis. Ex: I spilled the drink all on my shirt. Ex: I spilled the drink entirely on my shirt. Even though "all" means that something is "complete" or "whole", it does not imply that something is totally covered with something because "all" is often used to exaggerate something that is not complete or whole. So when used to describe something complete or whole, "all" sounds less strong.
"Scared to pieces" is an idiom that means to be extremely scared. Ex: I was scared to pieces in the haunted house. Ex: She scared me to pieces yesterday.
Of all the synonyms listed by Wiktionary, the most formal option seems to be "absurdity". As a replacement for nonsense, I'd use the plural, absurdities. *Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of all words in all languages.