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小词详解 | merit

田间小站 田间小站 2022-09-30


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


往期回顾

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小词详解 | pedigree

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