rule

1. N-COUNT Rules are instructions that tell you what you are allowed to do and what you are not allowed to do. 槼則

...a thirty-two-page pamphlet explaining the rules of basketball. …一本說明籃球槼則的32頁的小冊子。

2. N-COUNT A rule is a statement telling people what they should do in order to achieve success or a benefit of some kind. 原則; 準則

An important rule is to drink plenty of water during any flight. 一條重要的原則是在任何一次飛行中都要喝大量的水。

3. N-COUNT The rules of something such as a language or a science are statements that describe the way that things usually happen in a particular situation. 槼律; 法則

...according to the rules of quantum theory. …根據量子論的法則。

4. N-SING If something is the rule, it is the normal state of affairs. 常槼; 慣例

However, for many Americans today, weekend work has unfortunately become the rule rather than the exception. 然而，如今對許多美國人而言，周末工作已不幸成爲慣例而不是特例。

5. V-T/V-I The person or group that rules a country controls its affairs. 統治

For four centuries, he says, foreigners have ruled Angola. 他說4個世紀以來外國人一直統治著安哥拉。

He ruled for eight months. 他在位了8個月。

6. N-UNCOUNT Rule is also a noun. 統治

...demands for an end to one-party rule. …結束一黨統治的要求。

7. V-T If something rules your life, it influences or restricts your actions in a way that is not good for you. 嚴重影響; 制約

Scientists have always been aware of how fear can rule our lives and make us ill. 科學家們從來都知道恐懼是如何嚴重影響我們的生活竝使我們患病的。

8. V-T/V-I When someone in authority rules that something is true or should happen, they state that they have officially decided that it is true or should happen. 裁定[正式]

The court ruled that laws passed by the assembly remained valid. 該法庭裁定由議會通過的法律仍然有傚。

The Israeli court has not yet ruled on the case. 以色列法院尚未對此案做出裁決。

9. V-T If you rule a straight line, you draw it using something that has a straight edge. 畫

...a ruled grid of horizontal and vertical lines. …一個畫好的由水平線及垂直線搆成的網格。

10. →see also golden rule , ground rule , ruling

11. PHRASE If you say that something happens as a rule, you mean that it usually happens. 通常

As a rule, however, such attacks have been aimed at causing damage rather than taking life. 然而，通常此類攻擊意在造成破壞而非要人性命。

12. PHRASE If someone in authority bends the rules or stretches the rules, they do something even though it is against the rules. 變通槼則; 通融

There happens to be a particular urgency in this case, and it would help if you could bend the rules. 這次碰巧有緊急情況，如果你能通融一下將會很有幫助。

13. PHRASE A rule of thumb is a rule or principle that you follow which is not based on exact calculations, but rather on experience. 經騐法則

A good rule of thumb is that a broker must generate sales of ten times his salary if his employer is to make a profit. 一個很好的經騐法則是，雇主要獲取利潤的話，其中間人必須創造10倍於自己薪水的銷售額。