爱思英语编者按:任何一种语言都处在不断的变化之中,语言在其发展过程中会不断收录新词新义。ship, bikeable, time suck, snacky……这些都是牛津在线词典五月份收录的新词新义。英语达人必学技能get√!一起来看看吧!
The latest quarterly update to Oxford Dictionaries sees a wide range of words, definitions, and senses added to the dictionary. Here is a selection of some of the new words and senses from this quarter’s update:
牛津在线词典最新季度的更新收录了涵盖各个方面的单词、定义和含义。下面选取了一些本季度的新词新义:
ship
Ship was originally an abbreviation of relationship, and refers to a romantic relationship between two characters in a fictional series – often one that is supported by fans rather than depicted in the series itself.
Ship起初是单词relationship(关系)的缩写,用来指电视剧中两个虚构角色之间的恋情——而且通常是粉丝们所支持的,而不是剧集本身所描写的那对。
You might find these relationships portrayed in fan fiction or online discussion; those who have a particular interest in a particular ship are known as shippers, which is another word entering Oxford Dictionaries Online in this update.
这类恋情往往是通过粉丝写的同人小说或者网络讨论描绘出来的。那些粉某一特定ship的人会自称shipper——这个单词也同样在这次更新中入驻了牛津在线词典。
Support for one of these relationships is described with the verb ship – for example, 'I will always ship Sherlock and Molly'.
Ship作动词时可以表达对某种感情的支持,比如:“我会永远ship夏洛克和茉莉。”(英剧《神探夏洛克》中的台词)
thing
Thing is far from a new word, but a new sense has developed over recent years.
thing并不是一个新词,只是近年来这个词又被赋予了新义。
Describing something as a thing is now used informally to indicate that something is an established or genuine phenomenon or practice – often registering surprise or incredulity.
现在用thing来描述某事物,是用来表示这种现象或行为是确定的、真实存在的,是一种非正式的说法——通常用于表达惊奇或是不可思议的事物。
For example: 'he looks like he's wearing boxers underneath his trunks (is that a thing?).
比如:“他看起来好像在泳裤下面还穿了平角裤——真的是这样吗(is that a thing)?”
bikeable
Several words from the world of cycling are included in the May update. The adjective bikeable is used to describe an environment which is suitable or safe for cyclists – whether that be a city centre which has cycle lanes or a terrain which won't endanger life and limb.
在五月的更新里,收录了几个出自单车运动领域的单词。其中,形容词bikeable用来描述某环境是“适于自行车骑行的”——可能是置有自行车道的市中心,也可能是一段不会危及人身安全的地形。
sportive & gran fondo
The other cycling-related words which have entered Oxford Dictionaries online refer to various types of long-distance cycling events. Sportive (an abbreviation of cyclosportive) is a long-distance road cycling event in which a large number of cyclists ride a marked route, and is also known as a gran fondo – a term, from Italian, which is also included in this update.
牛津在线词典收录的另一个与骑行相关的单词指的是各种长途自行车赛事。大量自行车手在固定的一条长途公路上骑行的赛事被称为sportive(cyclosportive的缩写),也被称为gran fondo。这个术语源自意大利语,也同样被收录在了这次更新的词条中。
audax
Audax has also been added; like the sportive, this is a long-distance road cycling event, but participants must negotiate the route within a specified period without exceeding a specified speed. The word derives from the same root as audacious, perhaps as an indication that the participating cyclists are bold and daring.
audax也同样被加入词典,和sportive一样,它也是指一种长途公路自行车赛事。不过参赛者须在赛前商定骑行路线、时间限制、以及限速。这个单词与audacious(有冒险精神的)源于同一词根,这或许也暗示参赛自行车手们的勇往直前。
time suck
If you ever get the feeling that your life is increasingly busy, we’ve added a few words which might come in handy. Time suck is an informal term, most common in the USA, used to describe an inefficient or unproductive activity or a waste of time. That is, something which seems (figuratively) to suck up time: ‘The Internet can be a colossal time suck.’
如果你曾感到自己的生活日渐忙碌,那我们新收录的一些单词很快就能派上用场了。time suck是一个非正式的说法,在美国使用比较普遍,是用来描述一项低效、无用、纯粹浪费时间的活动。形象地说的就是看起来好像某件事正在吸光时间,比如:”网络真是个超级时间吸收器(网络真浪费时间。)“
crazy
While crazy was already in our dictionaries, unsurprisingly, we have now added another part of speech. You might well have heard somebody describe themselves as 'crazy busy', and it is this use: crazy as a submodifier. In this case, it simply intensifies the adjective – suggesting extreme busyness.
尽管crazy毫无疑问已经存在于我们词典的条目里了,但我们这次加上的是一个新词性。你可能经常听到某些人自称”疯狂地忙碌(crazy busy)“,这正是一个新用法:把crazy作为修饰语。在这个例子里,crazy加强了后面形容词的程度——表明极度的忙碌。
snacky
We'll finish with a word which might come in handy more often – the adjective snacky which, along with the comparative snackier and the superlative snackiest, has just been added to Oxford Dictionaries Online. It can be used for both the food suitable for eating between meals and to mean slightly hungry. So if reading this article has made you snacky, go ahead and get something snacky.
再说最后一个最新被加进牛津在线词典里的词就结束。这个词可能经常会派上用场哦——形容词snacky,以及它的比较级形式snackier和最高级形式snackiest都被加入牛津在线词典的词条中了。snacky可以用来形容适合在两餐之间吃的零食,也可以用来表示有一点点饿。所以,如果看完这篇文章你有点饿了,那就赶快去找些能当零食的东西填填肚子吧。