More often than not the energy they expend on seeming impressive makes their actual performance worse.

通常他们花费在着装上的精力使得他们的工作更加糟糕。

youdao

I think there's a general principle at work here: the less energy people expend on performance, the more they expend on appearances to compensate.

我想这是工作中的一个一般原则：人们在工作表现上花费越少，就会在外形上花费的越多来弥补。

youdao

Self-efficacy beliefs affect the choices people make, the effort people expend on activities, the perseverance and resilience people show in the face of adversity.

自我效能感信念影响着人们做出的选择，对活动付出的努力，在面对逆境表现的毅力和韧性。

youdao

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the US Congress -- and in the American body politic writ large -- to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense."

VOA: special.2011.06.11

The energy that male fish expend on courtship comes at the expense of their semen.

ECONOMIST: Males can take many routes to reproductive success

He leads his Republican rivals in fundraising by tens of millions of dollars, and will not have to expend money on a primary opponent.

BBC: Barack Obama 2012 campaign raises $70m in third quarter

Some would have us take comfort in the fact that, even at these reduced spending levels, the United States will expend more on defense than do our potential adversaries combined.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: It Ain't Necessarily So