小词详解 | merit
merit 英 [ˈmerɪt] 美 [ˈmerɪt]
考研 CET4 CET6 TOEFL TEM4 TEM8
外刊例句
Those who opposed them said the idea of token non-executives was demeaning for women, who would prefer to rise on the basis of merit rather than sex.
反对人士认为,女性更愿意依靠自身才能而非性别获得擢升,担任象征意义的非执行董事反而有辱她们的尊严。
——《经济学人》Judged purely on artistic merit, it’s the only annual award of its kind.
它以艺术价值为唯一标准,也是同类作品的唯一年度奖。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[noun] the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward
[名词] 特别好或特别有价值的品质,尤指值得称赞或奖励
深入解读
Merit 一词源自 mereri (挣得、获得、取得、应得),13世纪进入英语时原指“精神奖励”,现在主要表示“优点、美德、价值”,强调品质值得赞扬,但不一定出类拔萃,比如:
这部稀世珍本兼具内容丰富和可读性强的特点。
This scarce book has the merit of being both informative and readable.这项无力的论据似乎颇有价值。
The feeble argument seemed to have considerable merit.
即便不能出类拔萃,但值得赞扬的品质总归也是一种“优点、长处、优势”,比如:
我们讨论了药草茶的好处。
We discussed the merits of herbal tea.他们被劝服,认识到了和平的好处。
They have been persuaded of the merits of peace.
每个事物都有自己的长处和短处,所以我们在进行评判的时候就不能光盯着单个指标看其是否胜出,而是要“根据事物本身的情况特点(来考虑或评价)”,这就可以用 (consider/judge) on one's (own) merits 来表达,比如:
委员会表示他们会根据每位申请者自身的条件斟酌考虑。
The committee will consider each applicant on his or her own merits.
另外,自15世纪后期起, merit 也开始用作动词表示“ 值得、应受到”,比如:
他说自己没有干坏事,不应该受到刑事调查。
He said he had done nothing wrong to merit a criminal investigation.这一事故在当地报纸上只有小篇幅报道。
The accident merited only a small paragraph in the local paper.
名人用例
Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.
魅力吸引目光,美德赢得人心。
出自18世纪英国诗人亚历山大·蒲柏(Alexander Pope,1688年5月21日 - 1744年5月30日)。蒲柏是第一位受到欧洲大陆关注的英国诗人,他的著作被翻译成欧洲多国语言,是启蒙运动时期古典主义的代表。
同近义词
credit: the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future
excellence: the quality of being outstanding or extremely good
virtue: behavior showing high moral standards
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