/,ekspek'teɪʃn; ,ɛkspɛk`teʃən/
n
1 [U] ~ (of sth) firm belief that sth will happen; hope of gaining sth/that sth will happen 预料; 预期; 期待; 期望
*There's no expectation of snow tonight. 今晚预料无雪.
* The children waited patiently in expectation of (ie expecting) the magician. 孩子们耐心地等待着魔术师.
* He has little expectation of winning a prize. 他对获奖不抱什么希望.
2 [C usu pl 通常作复数] confident feelings (about sth) （对某事物）有信心的指望
*His parents have great expectations for his future. 他父母对他的前途深寄厚望.
* She had high expectations of what university had to offer. 她对大学所能给她提供的一切期望很高.
* The holiday was beyond all expectations, ie better than was hoped for. 假日过得比预期的好得多.
3 (idm 习语) a,gainst/,contrary to (all) expec`tation(s) quite different from what was expected 出乎意料; 意想不到
*a gold medal that was against all expectations 出乎意料的一枚金质奖章. ,expectation of `life years a person is expected to live 对某人的估计寿命. fall short of sb's/not come up to (sb's) expec`tations be less goodthan was expected 未臻理想
*Unfortunately the restaurant he recommended fell far short of our expectations. 遗憾的是他推荐的餐厅与我们心目中的相去甚远.
* His film performance didn't come up to expectations. 他在影片中的演出有负众望.

n
[U and C]
what you think or hope will happen
expectation that
　For some time he lived with the expectation that he was going to die.
in (the) expectation of sth
　Anne left Germany in the expectation of seeing her family again before very long.
against/contrary to (all) expectations
　Against all expectations, getting up at five is actually easier in winter.
　Having raised expectations (=made people more hopeful) , he went on to help only a few people.
above/below expectations
　Profits are below expectations.
beyond (sb's) expectations
　Gina has succeeded beyond our expectations.
　The show exceeded all expectations (=was much better than expected) .
come/live up to (sb's) expectations
　His performance did not live up to our expectations
(=was not as good as we expected)
　The number of people who attended fell short of expectations (=was lower than expected) .
[C usually plural]
a feeling or belief about the way something should be or how someone should behave
expectation of
　Women who have high expectations of marriage are often disappointed.
　Some people have totally unrealistic expectations of both medical and nursing staff.
expectation of life
the number of years that someone is likely to live
= life expectancy