mys‧te‧ry 1 W3 / mɪst ə ri / 名词 ( 复数形式 mysteries )
1 [可数名词，通常单数] an event, situation etc that people do not understand or cannot explain because they do not know enough about it :
Twenty years after the event, his death remains a mystery .
The way her mind worked was always a mystery to him.
‘Why did he do it?’ ‘I don’t know. It’s a complete mystery .’
The police never solved the mystery of Gray’s disappearance.
But why would anyone want to kill Jack? The mystery deepened .
What happened to the paintings after that is an unsolved mystery .
I don’t know how he got the job – it’s one of life’s little mysteries .
How life began on Earth is one of the great mysteries of science.
2 [不可数名词] the quality that something or someone has when they seem strange, secret, or difficult to understand or explain :
Her dark glasses gave her an air of mystery .
Annie knew that there was some mystery surrounding her birth.
be shrouded/veiled in mystery
The circumstances of his death were veiled in mystery.
3 [可数名词，通常复数] a subject, activity etc that is very complicated, secret, or difficult to understand, and that people want to learn about
the mysteries of something
his introduction to the mysteries of the perfume business
4 [可数名词] ( also murder mystery ) a story, film, or play about a murder, in which you are not told who the murderer is until the end :
an Agatha Christie mystery
COLLOCATIONS
动词
be a mystery It’s a mystery how he got my phone number.
remain a mystery What caused the accident remains a mystery.
solve/unravel a mystery (= find out what happened ) The children were given the clues and had to try to solve the mystery.
the mystery deepens (= it becomes more difficult to understand ) Why would he run away if he were not guilty? The mystery deepens.
the mystery surrounding something Research has unravelled much of the mystery surrounding the ageing process.
形容词
a complete/total mystery She said that her husband’s disappearance was a complete mystery.
an unsolved mystery What happened to her is still an unsolved mystery.
a great mystery (= a big and important mystery ) It is one of the great mysteries of science.
a little/minor mystery It was a minor mystery how the file had survived the fire.
a big mystery If they are right, they have solved one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.
短语
something is one of life’s (little) mysteries (= it is something that you will never understand – used humorously ) Where socks disappear to after they’ve been washed is one of life’s little mysteries.
COLLOCATIONS
动词
be shrouded/veiled in mystery (= be unable to be explained ) The origins of this tradition remain shrouded in mystery.
mystery surrounds something (= something cannot be explained ) Mystery has always surrounded the purpose of the great stone circle of Stonehenge.
形容词
deep mystery (= big and important mystery ) the deep mystery of the human mind
great mystery We wondered about the great mystery of death.
短语
an element of mystery (= part of something that seems mysterious ) There is an element of mystery and miracle in the process.
an air of mystery (= something that seems mysterious ) There was an air of mystery about him.
a sense of mystery (= a feeling that something is mysterious ) The garden had hidden corners that gave it a sense of mystery.