「经济学人」怎么看“压力山大”的中国学生?
Taming* the tiger mothers
China sounds the alarm over its stressed-out schoolchildren
Pushy parents are making them miserable
[0]tame: 作动词有两个含义,一个是针对动物的“驯服,使驯化”,另一层意思是“制服,控制;驾驭”,英文解释为“to reduce the power or strength of something and prevent it from causing trouble.”
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[1]shuttle: 最基本的意思是“穿梭班机; 穿梭班车; 穿梭火车”,英文解释是“A shuttle is a plane, bus, or train which makes frequent trips between two places.”
比如在澳门,巴士站和各大赌场之间的免费穿梭巴士就可以用shuttle表示。
举个🌰
There is a free 24-hour shuttle between the airport terminals.
在机场的各航空站之间有24小时的免费穿梭巴士。
它可以与space搭配构成“a space shuttle”,表示“航天飞机”。
这个词还可以作动词,表示“穿梭往返(两地)//短程往返运送(人)”,前者是用作不及物动词,后者用作及物动词。
举个🌰
Susan shuttles between Rotterdam and London for her job.
苏珊因为工作经常穿梭于鹿特丹和伦敦之间。
The passengers were shuttled to the hotel by bus.
旅客由班车送到酒店。
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION
PISA(国际学生评估项目)是一项由经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,OECD)统筹的学生能力国际评估计划。主要对接近完成基础教育的15岁学生进行评估,测试学生们能否掌握参与社会所需要的知识与技能。
[2]counterpart一词经常出现在外文媒体中,counter-表示“opposite; against; in return; corresponding 相反的;对立的;相应的”,和part一起就是“对立的//相应的事物”,从而表示“职位相当的人;作用相当的事物”,英文解释为“Somene's or something's counterpart is another person or thing that has a similar function or position in a different place. ”
[3]exact 熟词僻义
exact大家最熟悉的意思就是“精确的;确切的”,作形容词。
此处很明显不是作形容词,而是作动词,表示“迫使付出沉重的代价”,英文解释为“if something exacts a high or a heavy price, it has a very bad effect on a person or on a situation”。
举个🌰
The years of conflict have exacted a heavy price.
多年的冲突造成了惨重的损失。
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[4]lighten 熟词僻义
lighten大家比较熟悉的意思应该是“(使)变亮;(使)明亮”。比如“天要亮了。”我们可以说“The sky began to lighten.”
它其实还有两个引申意思:
1) ”减轻,减少〔工作量、担忧、债务等“,英文解释为“to reduce the amount of work, worry, debt etc that someone has”
lighten the load/burden/workload
We should hire an assistant to lighten LR’s workload.
我们应该招聘一位助手,减轻LR的工作量。
2) ”(使)变得轻松“,英文解释为“if you lighten something such as a mood or atmosphere, or if it lightens, it becomes less sad or serious”
lighten the atmosphere/mood/conversation
LR didn’t respond to my attempts to lighten the conversation.
我努力让谈话变得轻松一点,可LR却没有反应。
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[5]out of shape
shape一词可以表示“情况;健康状况”,英文解释为“If someone or something is in shape, or in good shape, they are in a good state of health or in a good condition. If they are in bad shape, they are in a bad state of health or in a bad condition. “ (身体、物体) 处于(良好/不良)状况
”...the Fatburner Diet Book, a comprehensive guide to getting in shape.
…《减肥饮食指南》,一本保持健康的综合指南。
He was still in better shape than many young men.
他依然比许多年轻人都健康。”
[6]bump: to move someone or something into a different class or group, or to remove them from a class or group altogether informal挤出,挤掉
The flight was overbooked, and Dad was the first one to be bumped.
航班超额预订,爸爸是第一个被挤掉的。
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本文节选自最新一期《经济学人》China版块
完整全文点击下方图片阅读
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "Taming the tigers" (Aug 18th 2018)