BBC News voc3

burdensome

(You have something important to do—something vital. It's not an item on a list but a burdensome project, urgent and complicated.)

обременительный, тягостный, тяжёлый, тяжкий

nondescript envelope

(You have to file this year's taxes, and last year's, and the documents you need are lost in your spare room, in nondescript envelopes you've never opened.)

Конверт без надписей

dignity

(Procrastination is one thing: we've all put off writing thank-you notes or responding to e-mails and survived with our dignity intact.)

достоинство, гордость; чувство собственного достоинства

intact

(Procrastination is one thing: we've all put off writing thank-you notes or responding to e-mails and survived with our dignity intact.)

неповрежденный, целый

well-meaning

(But let's imagine that a well-meaning hypothetical person—call him J—needs to make a difficult medical decision on behalf of an incapacitated older relative.)

действующий из лучших побуждений

on behalf of

(But let's imagine that a well-meaning hypothetical person—call him J—needs to make a difficult medical decision on behalf of an incapacitated older relative.)

от лица, от имени

to file taxes

(You have to file this year's taxes, and last year's, and the documents you need are lost in your spare room, in nondescript envelopes you've never opened.)

подать налоговую декларацию

a spare room, a guest room

(You have to file this year's taxes, and last year's, and the documents you need are lost in your spare room, in nondescript envelopes you've never opened.)

свободная комната, комната для гостей

optional

(Should the relative be subjected to an optional, arduous procedure that will be deeply unpleasant but possibly beneficial in the long term?)

необязательный, дополнительный

arduous

(Should the relative be subjected to an optional, arduous procedure that will be deeply unpleasant but possibly beneficial in the long term?)

сложный, труднодоступный, напряжённый (о деятельности)

not-inconsiderable risks

(Or should the not-inconsiderable risks of the procedure serve as justification for forgoing it?)

незначительные риски

justification

(Or should the not-inconsiderable risks of the procedure serve as justification for forgoing it?)

обоснование, оправдание

to forgo

(Or should the not-inconsiderable risks of the procedure serve as justification for forgoing it?)

отказываться, воздерживаться от

flagship

(Our flagship newsletter highlights the best of The New Yorker, including top stories, fiction, humour, and podcasts.)

ведущий, лидирующий

to be stuck

(Having consulted with a number of doctors, J is stuck; there are many possible next steps, including seeking further opinions, or deciding definitively not to proceed.)

застрять

to hang in mid-air

(For now, the situation hangs in mid-air, undealt with, like a bomb that's soon to land.)

зависнуть в воздухе

course of action

(Accordingly, the best course of action is to find some small way of moving forward, no matter how incremental it may seem.)

порядок действий

oppressive

(Yet our most oppressive problems seem to resist this kind of measured, sensible approach.)

угнетающий

something above and beyond

(Right or wrong, we feel that something above and beyond is required.)

нечто сверхъестественное

to retake sth from sb

отвоевать, отбить

to tug strings

дергать за веревочки

sequence

последовательность, очередность

a viable plan

жизнеспособный план

to poke fun at

подшучивать над

fortitude

(When we find that we lack the fortitude to continue, we have no choice but to admit that we're failing to deal.)

сила духа, стойкость

windshield wipers

дворники (очистители ветрового стекла)