0 a situation or subject that is being dealt with or considered -- 事情，事件
Being arrested by the police is no laughing matter. 被警方逮捕可不是开玩笑的事。
Baking a cake isn't difficult - it's just a matter of following the recipe. 烤蛋糕并不难——只需照着烹饪指南做就行。
Three of our players were ill, and to make matters worse, our main scorer had broken his ankle. 我们的3名队员病了，更糟的是，主要得分手摔断了脚踝。
Her resignation is not going to help matters. 她的辞职无助于解决问题。
Talking about the world's problems is one thing, but solving them is another matter altogether (= is completely different). 谈论世界所面临的问题是一回事，而解决它们却完全是另一回事。
Please phone me back - it's a matter of some importance. 你能给我回电话吗——有比较重要的事。
2 physical substance in the universe -- 物质
Most vegetable matter is compostable. 绝大部分蔬菜都可以用作堆肥。
Some scientists believe that there is about ten times as much matter in the universe as astronomers have observed. 有些科学家认为，宇宙中的物质约有天文学家所观测到的10倍之多。
3 a substance or things of a particular type -- （某一类）物品
Do you find the subject matter of the book (= the subject that the book deals with) interesting? 你觉得这本书的主题内容有趣吗？
advertising/printed matter 广告材料／印刷品
4 used in expressions describing how small an amount or period of time is -- （表示数量或时间之少）大约，左右
She complained he had short-changed her, but it was only a matter of a few pence. 她说他少找她钱了，其实只差了几便士而已。
5 to be important, or to affect what happens -- 要紧，重要，有关系
I know Charles doesn't think this project is important, but it matters to me. 我知道查尔斯并不看重这个项目，但它对我来说很重要。
[ + that ] It didn't matter that our best player was injured after ten minutes - we still won. 我们最好的球员比赛开始10分钟就受伤了——但这无碍大局，我们还是赢了。
[ + question word ] It doesn't matter what you wear - just as long as you come. 只要你来，穿什么都没关系。
"What did you say?" "Oh, it doesn't matter." “你说什么？”“哦，没什么要紧的。”
We were late but it didn't seem to matter. 我们迟到了，不过看来不要紧。
What matters is that she has been encouraged to create a musical event which has been received with interest and enthusiasm by the teacher.
Throughout the project we placed priority on building a close rapport with one another and openly speaking about personal issues as well as professional matters.
However, they introduced a new conceptual framework which was henceforth referred to on all matters of authority and identity at the settlement level.
In this reply, we address both matters as they pertain to the issues raised in the commentaries.
We were not so much interested in mending fences as in focusing on the scientific matters of the debate.
A vakilu was an agent assigned to handle legal matters.
We are being rudely awakened to a sense of unity in matters political, economic, scientific, and even cultural.
The amount of grain in his warehouse and the amount of grain 'owed' to the army were two entirely separate matters.
