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| NOUN |
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| /ˈmætə/ |
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| 1 | C something that you are discussing, considering , or dealing with 事；事情 |
| Teachers feel this is a matter for discussion with parents. 教师们觉得这是一件要和父母讨论的事情。 |
| an extremely important matter 极为重要的事情 |
| subject matter (=what a book, play, film etc is about) You may find the subject matter unsuitable for younger children. （书、戏剧、电影等的）主题，内容，题材 |
| no laughing matter (=serious) Cancer is no laughing matter. 不是开玩笑的事 |
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| 2 | the matter used for talking about problems or bad situations 问题；麻烦；困境 |
| what’ s the matter You look sad. What’ s the matter? 你看起来很伤心。怎么啦？ |
| What’ s the matter with the radio? It won’ t turn on. 收音机怎么啦？打不开了。 |
| there is something the matter with sth/sb I think there’ s something the matter with the printer. 我想这台打印机出毛病了。 |
| there’ s nothing the matter (=there is no problem) There’ s nothing the matter with you – you’ re just tired. 没有问题 |
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| 3 | matters plural a situation that someone is involved in 事态；情况 |
| Her angry attitude didn’ t improve matters. 她生气的态度无助于事态的好转。 |
| to make matters worse The parcel arrived late and, to make matters worse, it wasn’ t what we had ordered. 包裹来晚了，更糟糕的是，它不是我们订购的东西。 |
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| 4 | U a particular type of substance 物质；材料；东西 |
| You can improve the soil by adding composted organic matter. 你可以通过添加有机堆肥改良土壤。 |
| | 4a | the physical substance that everything in the world is made of （构成世界万物的）物质 | |
| | 4b | the yellow substance that a part of your body produces when it is infected （身体感染部位排出的）脓，黄水 | |
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| 5 | singular +of used for emphasizing how short a period of time is （是）…的事（用于强调时间很短） |
| The school could close in a matter of a few weeks. 学校关闭可能是几个星期的事。 |
| PHRASES |
| - | as a matter of fact
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| 1 | used when you are going to give more details about something 实际上 | I haven’ t been here long. As a matter of fact, I just got off the plane yesterday. 我到这里没多久。实际上，我昨天早上刚下飞机。 | |
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| 2 | used when you are going to disagree with or correct what has just been said 其实；恰恰相反 | ‘Was he in a bad mood?’ ‘No, as a matter of fact, he seemed quite cheerful.’ “他心情不好吗？”“不，恰恰相反，他看起来非常高兴。” | |
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| - | as a matter of interest
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| used when you are asking something that is not important or not directly relevant to what you are discussing |
| 作为感兴趣的事 |
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| Just as a matter of interest, when will we be paid? 只是感兴趣地问问，我们什么时候可以领到报酬？ |
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| - | as a matter of routine/course
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| done as a habit or as the usual way of doing things |
| 按照习惯/常规 |
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| You should check all your work as a matter of course. 你应该按照常规检查一下你所有的工作。 |
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| - | as a matter of urgency/priority formal
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| used for saying that something must be dealt with immediately , before dealing with anything else |
| 作为急事/优先考虑的事情 |
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| The new law should be introduced as a matter of urgency. 新的法律应该作为当务之急而采用。 |
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| - | the fact/truth of the matter
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| used for emphasizing that what you are saying is true , although others may not realize or accept it |
| 事情的实际情况/真相 |
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| The fact of the matter is that there isn’ t a clear policy. 事情的实际情况是没有一个明确的政策。 |
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| - | for that matter mainly spoken
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| used for emphasizing that something else is also true |
| 而且（用于强调其他事情也是真的） |
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| He doesn’ t like young women, or any women for that matter. 他不喜欢年轻女人，而且其他女人也不喜欢。 |
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| - | the heart/crux/nub of the matter
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| the most important aspect of a situation |
| 事情的核心/关键/要害 |
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| As usual, money was at the heart of the matter. 像往常一样，钱的问题是事情的核心。 |
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| - | the little/small matter of sth humorous
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| used for referring to something important that someone has forgotten or not done yet |
| 某事物这个小问题（用于指某人忘掉或还没做的重要事情） |
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| There’ s still the small matter of my bonus to discuss. 还有关于我的奖金这件小事要谈。 |
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| - | a matter of life and death
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| a serious or dangerous situation that you must deal with immediately in order to prevent something bad from happening |
| 生死攸关的事情 |
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| The peace process is a matter of life or death in some regions. 在某些地区，和平进程是关乎生死的大事。 |
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| - | a matter of opinion/taste
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| something that different people have different opinions about |
| 看法/爱好不同的问题 |
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| Art is very much a matter of taste. 艺术在很大程度上是一个个人爱好的问题。 |
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| - | a matter of principle
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| something that involves an important principle |
| 原则问题 |
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| She refers to herself as ‘Ms’ as a matter of principle. 作为原则问题，她称自己为“女士”。 |
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| - | a matter of time
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| used for saying that something will certainly happen |
| 时间问题 |
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| It was only a matter of time before she left the company. 她离开公司只是个时间问题。 |
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| - | no matter how/where/what etc
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| used for saying that something is not important or will not have an effect |
| 无论怎么/何处/什么等 |
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| No matter how much you protect your children, they will still make mistakes. 不论你怎么保护你的孩子，他们仍然会犯错误。 |
| No matter where I am, I’ m always thinking of you. 不论我在什么地方，我总是想着你。 |
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