Australians mourn tree that ‘failed’ university students The sudden collapse of the University of Sydney's famed jacaranda tree has triggered a wave of grief in Australia, with staff and alumni mourning a key piece of campus folklore. collapse /k?’l?ps/ v/n. 倒塌，瓦解 jacaranda /?d??k?'r?nd?/ n. 紫薇 alumni /?'l?mna?/ n. 校友(復數(shù)，單數(shù)為alumnus) folklore /‘f??kl??/ n. 民俗，民俗傳統(tǒng) The 18m-wide tree had been at the centre of university life and graduation photos since arriving in the main quadrangle 88 years ago. It was also steeped in superstition. A popular myth asserted that undergraduates would fail their exams if they neglected to study before the tree's first bloom, typically in October or November. quadrangle /'kw?dr??g(?)l/ n. 四方院子 steep /sti?p/ v. 浸泡，使...充滿 assert /?'s??t/ v. 斷言，聲稱 The university deemed the collapse seismic enough to send out a press release on Saturday, declaring it was "saddened to advise" the tree had toppled over during the night. deem /di?m/ v. 認為 seismic /‘sa?zm?k/ a. 地震的 topple /'t?p(?)l/ v. 傾倒，顛覆，推翻