★ ordeal（n）苦难经历；（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验
The hostages went through a dreadful ordeal。
每个人质都经历了可怕的折磨。
They manned themselves for an ordeal.
他们振奋精神迎接考验。
Recently, landing a decent job is a difficult ordeal for graduating students to fulfill, one rendered all the more daunting by the equally tough task of saying goodbye to the ones they love.
如今，对毕业生来说，找到一份体面的工作是个严峻的考验，而由此又带来了另一项同样艰巨的任务，那就是和恋人道别。
★ trial（n）审问、审讯、审理、审判；对能力、质量、性能能的测试，试验，考验；（不得不容忍的）讨厌的人或事物
Commit sb for trial 将某人拘禁候审
Put a car through safety trials。
对汽车进行安全性能测验
Her child is a trial to his teachers。
她的孩子让老师很伤脑筋
（词组）go on trial 或 stand trial for sth 受审判
She went on trial for murder。她因涉嫌谋杀罪而受审。
（词组）on trial 在试验中，在测试中
Take the machine on trial for a week，把机器试验一星期
（词组）put sb on trial for sth 使某人被控告而受审
She was put on trial for fraud 她因诈骗罪而受审
（习语）trial and error 反复试验，从中找出失败的解决办法
learn by trial and error 通过反复试验学习