小词详解 | industrious

industrious 英 [ɪnˈdʌstriəs] 美 [ɪnˈdʌstriəs]

CET6 IELTS TOEFL SAT TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

• North Americans are more industrious than South Americans, according to data compiled by Mercer, a consultancy.
  根据美世咨询公司汇编的数据，北美人比南美人更勤劳。
  ——《经济学人》
• At least in her public persona, Clinton gives off an exclusively professional vibe: industrious, calculated, goal-oriented, distrustful.
  克林顿给人一种完全职业化的感觉，至少她的公众形象如此：勤勉、深思熟虑、目标导向、不轻信。
  ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[adjective] diligent and hard-working
[形容词] 勤奋努力的

深入解读

从 industrious 的拼写不难猜到该词与熟词 industry （工业、行业）相关，这样又很容易将 industrious 误以为与 industrial （工业的、产业的；工业化的、工业发达的）同义。

实际上， industrious 同 industry 一样，都是源自拉丁语 industria （勤奋、活跃），16世纪50年代进入英语后，开始用作褒义词表示“勤奋的、勤劳的”以及“忙碌的、常年不闲的”，多指一种习惯性的或持续的非常认真的勤奋，常用来形容那些以专注于自己的事业、工作或业余爱好为特征的人，比如：

• 她不聪明，但是她很用功。这就是为什么她的外语总是出类拔萃。
  She is not smart, but she is very industrious. That's why she has always excelled in foreign languages.
• 她是个勤劳肯干的员工，且身处逆境时，她从不垂头丧气。
  She was an industrious and willing worker, and she was always cheerful in adversity.

值得注意的是，想要以名词形式表达“勤劳、勤奋”时，则可以用 industry 表示，比如小站（微信公众号：田间小站）之前在 小词详解 | patron 中提到过的双语名言就有用到：

No man’s genius, however shining, can raise him from obscu­rity unless he has industry, opportunity and also a patron to recom­mend him.
一个人不管有多么光辉的天才，假如没有勤奋和机会以及赞助人的推介，也会湮没无闻的。

权威用例

中华民族是历经磨难、不屈不挠的伟大民族，中国人民是勤劳勇敢、自强不息的伟大人民，中国共产党是敢于斗争、敢于胜利的伟大政党。
The Chinese nation is a great nation; it has been through hardships and adversity but remains indomitable. The Chinese people are a great people; they are industrious and brave; and they never pause in the pursuit of progress. The Communist Party of China is a great party; it has the courage to fight and the mettle to win.

出自十九大报告《决胜全面建成小康社会 夺取新时代中国特色社会主义伟大胜利》（Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era）。

同近义词

• diligent: having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties
• assiduous: showing great care and perseverance
• sedulous: (of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence

往期回顾