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小词详解 | fathom

田间小站 田间小站 2022-09-30

fathom 英 [ˈfæðəm] 美 [ˈfæðəm]
SAT TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

  • Take in the view from atop Gatun dam and fathom what is missing.
    从加通大坝的顶部俯瞰,看看到底哪里不对劲。
    ——《经济学人》
  • I have met these rich kids who have so much that I can’t comprehend, doing things that I can’t fathom.
    我遇到过这些有钱的孩子,他们有很多我无法理解的东西,做着我无法理解的事情。
    ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[verb] understand (a difficult problem or an enigmatic person) after much thought
[动词] 经过深思熟虑后理解(某个难题或神秘人物)


深入解读

在词典里, fathom 通常是一个刚好排在小站之前推过的 fatigue 前面的单词。其本义是一种长度单位,中文译作“英寻”,等于6英尺(约等于1.83米),主要用于测量水深,这在《高级英语》教材中就有“Mark Twain-Mirror of America”一文用到:
He adopted his pen name from the cry heard in his steamboat days, signaling two fathoms (12 feet) of water - a navigable depth.
他的笔名取自他在蒸汽船上做工时听到的报告水深为两英寻(12英尺)——意即可以通航的信号语。
这个水深单位也可以用来比喻内心深处,比如:

  • 她把感情深深地隐藏在心中。但我们都知道他在那间舒适小店的身影永远留在了她的记忆中。
    She kept her feelings hidden fathoms deep. But we all knew that her
    abiding memory was of him in the snug little shop.

当用作动词时, fathom 即表示用测量绳“测量……的深度”。一个水体的大小不能光看其看得见的表面积,更要看其水下深度如何。

换句话说,通过测量其看不见的水下深度,就可以查明该水体的实际体量。后来 fathom 就被用来表示“弄清……的真相、深入理解”,多指通过穿透神秘难懂事物的晦涩面纱来揭示或理解其本质,比如:

  • 多年来人们一直试图弄清双方可能会如何利用自己的影响力。
    For years people have been trying to fathom (out) how both sides might use their
    clout.
  • 我真搞不懂斯坦纳在说些什么。他谈话中使用的晦涩行话对我是一团迷雾。
    I really couldn't fathom what Steiner was talking about. The
    arcane jargon in his talk was opaque to me.

而其衍生词 fathomless 自然表示“深不可测的、神秘莫测的”,比如:

  • 罗莎陷入失望的无底深渊中去了。她总是重复的一句话就是她没有舒坦的生活。
    Rosa sunk into the fathomless depths of despair. Her constant
    refrain was that she didn't have a snug life.

名著用例
Interesting to fathom, it seemed to him, from a motive of curiosity pure and simple, was whether it was the traffic that created the route or vice-versa or the two sides in fact.
出于纯粹质朴的好奇心,他饶有兴趣地猜测着:究竟是交通造成路的呢,还是路造成交通的,抑或二者其实是相辅相成的呢?
出自爱尔兰现代主义作家詹姆斯·乔伊斯(James Joyce)于1922年出版的长篇小说《尤利西斯》(Ulysses)。《尤利西斯》作为意识流小说的代表作,被誉为20世纪百大英文小说之首,并被奉为20世纪最伟大的小说。

同近义词

  • comprehend: grasp mentally; understand
  • grasp: get mental hold of; comprehend fully
  • interpret: understand (an action, mood, or way of behaving) as having a particular meaning or significance

往期回顾
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