quarter/'kwɔːtər $ 'kwɔːrtər/

n.

➊ one of four equal parts into which sth can be divided

➋ a period of 15 minutes

n. [C]

➊ 四分之一：in the first quarter of the 20^th century 在20世纪最初的25年里

◇Cut the cake into quarters. 将蛋糕切成4份。

◇[a quarter of sth] a quarter of the cake 蛋糕的四分之一

➋ 一刻钟：at a quarter past eight 8点1刻

◇at a quarter to eight 7点3刻

◇three quarters of an hour later 3刻钟之后

常犯错误

✗ The explosion lasted for a quarter.

✓ The explosion lasted for a quarter of an hour. 爆炸持续了一刻钟。

[✌quarter在表达时间长度“15分钟”时，of an hour不能省略；在用于表达某一时间点时，不需要of an hour，如：a quarter to nine 9点差1刻]