英語報紙時文閱讀

英語報紙時文閱讀英語報紙時文閱讀英語報紙時文閱讀英語報紙時文閱讀編制僅供參考審核批準生效日期地址：電話：傳真:郵編:時文閱讀1.低頭一秒，家毀人亡！隨著科技遍布全世界，智能手機成為了“通訊神器”。但是對于那些精力不集中的司機、騎行者和行人來說，手機在他們手里就是一把上膛的槍AlexanderHeit,a22-year-oldcollegestudentwithgoodgradesandaquickwit

[w?t]（智力，才智）,wasdrivinginGreeley,intheUSstateofColorado,whenhedecidedtoreplytoatextmessageonhisphone."Soundsgoodmyman,seeyasoon,I'lltw"Wedon'tknowtherest.Themessagewasinterruptedbyacrash.Heitdied.Whiletheyoungmanwasdistracted,hedriftedintooncomingtraffic,accordingtotheInternationalBusinessTimes.OnmycyclingtripsaroundBeijing,IoftenthinkaboutthemanytragiccaseslikeHeit’sthatI’vereadaboutinmyhomecountryovertheyears.IamastoundedbythenumberofmyfellowcyclistsandalsoscooterriderswhoIseenotonlycarryingonphoneconversationsbutalsoonlyreadingtextontheirphones.Theirheadsaredown,eyestransfixedbyasmallluminousscreen,oblivioustotheworldthey’rerushingcourse,thefasteryou’regoing,thequickeradistractioncanbecomeatragedy.。Studiesshowthatstaringatacellphonefor3secondswhiledrivingat60kilometersanhourisasdangerousasdrivingblindfor50meters,accordingtoXieCaifeng,afellowattheresearchofficeofShunyiCourtinBeijing,writinginacolumnpublishedbyChinaDailylastwrotethatofficialstatisticsshowedthat“theuseofcellphoneswhiledrivingwasthetopreasonfortrafficaccidentsleadingtodeathinZhengzhou,Henanprovince”.Itisalsoillegal.Accordingtothenationaltrafficcode,itisillegaltousehand-heldphoneswhiledriving,andanoffendercanlosepointsontheirlicenseandreceiveafineofupto200yuan($,Xieareonedeterrent,buteducationandsocialpressurealsoareimportant.Twoyearsago,theShanghaiofficeofthemediacompanyHavasdesignedacampaignfortheGlobalRoadSafetyPartnershipusing350smashedcellphonesthathadbeeninthehandsofpeoplewhohaddiedwhiletextinginChina,showingtheirlastweremountedonblackslabs（板子）likegravestones(墓碑)aspartofaninstallationforRoadSafetyDayin2015,whichwasmadeintoafilm,

SMSLastWords.Itshowedheart-rendinglastexchangeslikethisone:：Driver:Don'tworry,I'llbehomequickly.22歲的亞歷山大?海特是名品學兼優(yōu)、聰慧靈敏的大學生。有一天，他在美國科羅拉多州格里利市駕車行駛時，拿起手機準備回復(fù)一條短信。“聽起來不錯，一會見啊老兄，我將……”短信戛然而止，海特車禍而亡。他接下來想要發(fā)什么，我們無從得知。據(jù)《國際財經(jīng)時報》報道，他在分心發(fā)短信時，車子偏離方向撞上了迎面而來的車輛。當我騎車環(huán)游北京時，我時不時的就會想起，多年來我的國家發(fā)生過很多類似于海特的慘痛事故.讓我十分震驚的是，我身邊的人無論是騎自行車還是摩托車，我看到有很多人不僅會拿著手機打電話，還會盯著手機看短信。他們低著頭，目光神游在那塊小小的發(fā)光屏里，早已無視身邊的世界。當然，人在分心時行駛的越快，悲劇就越容易發(fā)生2016年，北京市順義區(qū)人民法院研究室研究員謝彩鳳在《中國日報》發(fā)表的一篇專欄文章中指出，數(shù)據(jù)顯示，車輛時速60公里的情況下，低頭看3秒手機的危險系數(shù)相當于盲開50米。謝彩鳳寫道，官方統(tǒng)計數(shù)據(jù)顯示，“開車時使用手機是河南鄭州交通事故致死的主要原因”。文章提到，“這也是違法的?！吨腥A人民共和國道路交通安全法實施條例》明確規(guī)定，駕車時使用手持電話是違法行為，違者罰款200元，并扣駕照分?！碧幜P雖是遏制手段之一，但是教育和社會壓力同樣很重要。2015年，哈瓦斯通訊社上海分社用350部碎裂的手機為全球道路安全合作伙伴組織（GRSP）制作了宣傳作品。這些手機的機主去世時都在拿著它們發(fā)短信，而屏幕上顯示了他們的臨終遺言。它們被裝在如同墓碑般的黑色板子上，作為2015年交通安全日的一個裝置藝術(shù)展出，并被拍成電影《短信遺言》。手機上顯示的最后一段對話，讓人心痛。就像這一條司機：不用擔心，我快到家了。單詞interrupted[?nt?'r?pt?d]打斷中斷distracted[d?'str?kt?d]

注意力不集中的drift[dr?ft]

vi.

漂流；偏離oncoming

['?nk?m??]迎面而來的tragic['tr?d??k]adj.

悲劇的；悲慘的astounded[?'sta?nd]v.

使驚駭；大吃一驚scooter

['skut?(r)]n.

踏板車；小型摩托車transfix[tr?ns'f?ks]vt.

刺穿；使呆住luminous['lum?n?s]dj.

發(fā)光的；發(fā)亮的oblivious[?'bl?vi?s]

adj.

沒注意；健忘的statistics

[st?'t?st?ks]n.

統(tǒng)計數(shù)字penalty['pen?lti]

n.

處罰；懲罰deterrent[d?'ter?nt]n.

威懾物smashed[sm??t]adj.

破碎的mount[ma?nt]v.

登上；裝上installation

[?nst?'le??n]n.

安裝；裝置miracle['m?r?kl]

n.

奇跡pedestrian[p?'destri?n]n.

行人issue

['??u]v.

發(fā)表；公布split[spl?t]分散的，不集中Mother:Ok,waitingforu!

Astechnologyhasspreadacrosstheworld,themobilephonesthatareacommunicationsmiraclehavebecometheequivalent（n.

相等物）ofaloadedgunwheninthehandsofdistracteddrivers,cyclistsandpedestrians（行人）.

AlexanderHeitdiedbackin2013.Bynow,hewouldbe26,possiblystartinganewjoborbusiness,maybeengagedtotheloveofhishisdeath,Heit’sparentsissuedthisstatement:"Inasplitsecondyoucouldruinyourfuture,injureorkillothers,andtearaholeintheheartofeveryonewholovesyou."So,please,putthephoneaway,orstopwhenyouuseitifyoumust.Therisksarejusttoogreat.

媽：好的，等著你！隨著科技遍布全世界，智能手機成為了“通訊神器”。但是對于那些精力不集中的司機、騎行者和行人來說，手機在他們手里就是一把上膛的槍。亞歷山大?海特死于2013年。如果沒有死，今年他應(yīng)該26歲了，或許剛開始一份新工作、新事業(yè)，也有可能和他的心上人訂婚了。海特死后，他的父母發(fā)表了一份聲明：“一秒鐘你能毀掉自己的未來，一秒鐘你能傷害或是殺死其他人，一秒鐘你能在所有愛你的人心上撕一道口子?！彼?，開車時請把手機放在一邊，或者如有必要，請停車后再用。低頭一眼，代價慘重。單詞interrupted[?nt?'r?pt?d]打斷中斷distracted[d?'str?kt?d]

注意力不集中的drift[dr?ft]

vi.

漂流；偏離oncoming

['?nk?m??]迎面而來的tragic['tr?d??k]adj.

悲劇的；悲慘的astounded[?'sta?nd]v.

使驚駭；大吃一驚scooter

['skut?(r)]n.

踏板車；小型摩托車transfix[tr?ns'f?ks]vt.

刺穿；使呆住luminous['lum?n?s]dj.

發(fā)光的；發(fā)亮的oblivious[?'bl?vi?s]

adj.

沒注意；健忘的statistics

[st?'t?st?ks]n.

統(tǒng)計數(shù)字penalty['pen?lti]

n.

處罰；懲罰deterrent[d?'ter?nt]n.

威懾物smashed[sm??t]adj.

破碎的mount[ma?nt]v.

登上；裝上installation

[?nst?'le??n]n.

安裝；裝置miracle['m?r?kl]

n.

奇跡pedestrian[p?'destri?n]n.

行人issue

['??u]v.

發(fā)表；公布split[spl?t]分散的，不集中2.Turns

Out

That

Taking

Photos

Really

Does

Help

YouRemember

All

Those

Great

ExperiencesIs

our

non-stop

photo-taking

pulling

us

out

of

themoments

that

matter

and

causing

us

to

forget

whatwe've

seen

Maybe

not,

according

to

new

researchlooking

at

the

relationshipbetween

snapping

picturesand

forming

memories.During

the

study,294

volunteers

were

asked

to

tour

a

museum

exhibit

listening

to

an

audioguide

–

those

in

one

group

were

encouraged

to

take

photos,

while

those

in

another

had

toleave

their

phones

and

cameras

behind.When

questioned

afterwards,the

photo

takerscould

remember

more

about

what

they'd

seenand

less

about

what

they'd

heard.The

result

suggests

the

act

of

taking

pictures

and

seeking

out

worthy

frames

to

capture

helpsfix

memories

in

our

minds,

according

to

the

researchers."Our

research

is

novelbecause

it

shows

that

photo-taking

itself

improves

memory

for

visualaspects

of

an

experience

but

can

hurt

memory

for

non-visual

aspects,

like

auditory

details,"

saidthe

team,

from

New

York

University,

University

of

Southern

California,

University

of

Pennsylvaniaand

Yale

University,

in

a

statement.The

museum

test

was

backed

up

with

a

follow-up

experiment

using

a

virtual

art

gallery

app

ona

volunteers

could

take

screenshots

and

some

couldn't,

and

the

same

pattern

wasrepeated

–

those

who

grabbed

digital

memories

remembered

more

of

what

they'd

seen,

butless

of

what

they'd

heard

from

an

audio

commentary.The

positive

effect

on

visual

memory

was

greater

than

the

negative

effect

on

auditory

memory,the

researchers

's

more,

in

both

experiments

those

who

could

snap

photos

were

also

more

likely

toremember

objects

they

hadn't

specifically

taken

picturesof

as

well

as

ones

they

had."These

findings

suggest

that

having

a

camera

changes

how

people

approach

an

experience

in

afundamental

way,"

says

the

team.The

research

has

been

published

in

Psychological

Science.2.研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，拍照片真的能幫你把那些美好的回憶記得更牢我們那從不停止的拍照惡習真的在讓我們無法享受當下、并讓我們忘了自己看到了什么嗎根據(jù)一項最新的關(guān)于拍照和記憶形成的研究，事實可能并不是這樣。在這項研究里，294名志愿者被要求戴著有聲向?qū)⒂^一家博物館——其中一組被鼓勵多拍照片，而另一組則必須把他們的手機和相機留下。在后續(xù)的問詢中，拍照片的一組能記住更多他們看到的東西，但卻只能記住更少他們聽到的內(nèi)容。研究者們說，這個結(jié)果表明：拍照這個動作，以及尋找值得拍的角度的過程，都在幫助我們穩(wěn)固大腦中的記憶?！拔覀兊难芯渴歉镄滦缘?，它表明拍照能夠強化我們對一段經(jīng)歷的視覺記憶，但卻會妨礙非視覺的記憶——比如聽到的細節(jié)。”研究團隊在一次聲明中說到。（這個研究團隊的成員分別來自紐約大學、南加州大學、賓夕法尼亞大學和耶魯大學）這次博物館實驗得到了一個后續(xù)實驗的支持，這個實驗用的是智能手機上的虛擬畫廊。一些志愿者可以進行截屏，而另一些則不能；實驗結(jié)果中出現(xiàn)了同樣的模式——那些可以截屏的人記住了更多他們看到的東西，但卻記住了更少的他們聽到的音頻評論。研究者們還發(fā)現(xiàn)：視覺記憶上的增強效果大于聽覺記憶上的削弱效果。此外，在兩個試驗中，那些能夠拍照的人都更容易記住一些他們并沒有特地去拍的東西。研究團隊說：“這說明，光是拿著一個相機，就能從根本上改變?nèi)藗儗Υ淮谓?jīng)歷的方式。”這項研究是被發(fā)表在《心理科學》上的。Strugglingstudentsofferednewoption華中科技大學新規(guī)：本科不努力，畢業(yè)成?？?。It’sapopularmyth(誤傳)thatoncehighschoolgraduatespassgaokaoandenteruniversity,theycanresteasy.However,thetruthis,iftheywastetheirtimeinuniversity,theycouldendupgettingathree-yearcollegediploma(專科文憑)insteadofabachelor’sdegree(學士學位).Atleast,thisisthecaseforstudentsatHuazhongUniversityofScienceandTechnology(HUST)inWuhan,Hubei.

Sincethisfallsemester,undergraduates(本科生)whoseperformancedoesn’tmeettheschool’srequirementswillbetransferred(轉(zhuǎn)換)toacollegecourse(?？普n程),reportedBeijingYouthDaily.Afterthetransfer,they’renotallowedtochangemajors(專業(yè))orgetbackonthefour-yearuniversitystudytrack(路徑).Afteritsintroduction,thisnewregulationcausedheateddiscussions.Manyinternetusersthinkit’sunacceptablenottobegivenabachelor’sdegree,asstudentsoftenhavetogothroughfiercecompetitionduringgaokaotogetintoHUST,whichisoneofthetopuniversitiesinChina.

AccordingtoasurveybyXinhuaNewsAgency,almost90percentofrespondents（調(diào)查對象）wouldrepeatayear,delaygraduationorevendropoutratherthantransfertothree-yearcollege,astaffmemberintheuniversity’steachingaffairsofficesaidthattheregulationisdesignedtoofferstrugglingstudentsanotheroption(選項).“Eachyear,therearesomestudentswhoshouldbedismissed(勸退)becauseofnotworkinghardandfailingtomeettheuniversity’srequirementsforcredits(學分),”thestaffmembertoldChinaDaily.

Underthenewpolicy,strugglingstudentscanstillearnacollegediploma,headded,whichismuchbetterthanbeingdismissed.HUSTisn’ttheonlyuniversityinChinatointroducesuchapolicy.In2015,TsinghuaUniversityalsolaunched（提出，開展，落實）somethingsimilar.

AccordingtoXiongBingqi,afamouseducationexpert,thepolicyisanexperimentdesignedtoimprovehowuniversitiesdealwiththeirworst-performingstudents.“HUSTisprovidingthesestudentswithanotherwayout,”XiongtoldnewssiteSixthTone.“Ofcourse,iftheydon’twanttodothevocational(職業(yè)培訓的)program,theycanalwaysconsidertakingthegaokaoagain.”

Morethanonechance

UniversitiesaroundtheworldhavedifferentwaysofdealingwithpoorlyperformingtheUS,strugglingstudentshavetodelaygraduationuntiltheymeettherequiredacademictheUK,universitystudentshaveonechancetoresit（重修）anexam.Iftheyfailagain,theyhavetoretake（奪回；重考）thecoursethefollowingyear.Iftheyfailathirdtime,theycouldberemovedfromthecoursecompletely.China’snewheroIt’srarethattheprotagonist(主角)inaChinesemoviewinstheaudience’sheartswithanemotionallyuplifting

令人振奮的message,ratherthanbyshowingoffhisorhergoodlooks.ButWolfWarriorII(《戰(zhàn)狼2》)isputtingChinaintheglobalspotlight公眾注意中心.It’salsothefirstfilmtotastesuccessbothintermsofboxofficeearnings（票房收入）andpromotingChinesevalues.

KungfuartistWuJingbothstarredinanddirectedtheactionmovie.Sinceitsrelease（釋放發(fā)，發(fā)行）onJuly27,it’searnedanunimaginablebillionyuan,settingarecordfordomestic(國內(nèi)的)moviesattheboxoffice（票房）.

ThefilmfocusesonarescueoperationinAfrica,ledbyformerspecialforcessoldierLengFeng–playedbyWu.LenghelpsChineseworkersandlocalAfricansflee（逃跑）awar-torn（飽受戰(zhàn)爭摧殘的）andplague-ravaged(飽受瘟疫折磨的)country.

WolfWarriorIIlinksarttoreality,andremindspeopleofthemassive（大規(guī)模的）evacuation(撤離)ofChinesepeoplefromLibyawhencivilwarbrokeouttherein2011,andfromYemenin2015,aswellasthechallengestheEbolavirus（埃博拉病毒）createdinWestAfricafrom2013to2016.

ThefilmdescribeshowtheChinesegovernmentaimstoprotectoverseasChinesecitizens.Justasthemessageattheendofthefilmreads:“CitizensofthePeople’sRepublicofChina.Whenyouencounter(遇到)dangerinaforeignland,donotgiveup!Pleaseremember,atyourbackstandsastrongmotherland.”

ThankstoChina’sincreasingparticipationinglobalaffairs,nowcouldbeconsideredtherightmomenttointroduceamodernChinesehero.

“Holdingupabanner(旗幟)ofpeace,friendshipandresponsibility,WolfWarriorIIshouldbeseenasabraveefforttopromoteChinesevaluesaroundtheworld,”columnist(專欄作家)ZhuPingwroteinChinaDaily.

“It’stimeChinesefilmmakersproducedfilmsthattellgoodstoriesandcarrytherightspirit.Letusassume（假定）WolfWarriorIIhasstartedthattrend(趨勢).”Boxofficehit票房冠軍boxofficeappeal:票房號召力boxofficeearnings:票房收入Broadway:百老匯celebrity[s?'lebr?ti]n.名人comedyn.喜劇conductorn.(樂隊、合唱團的)指揮crosstalk:相聲debut['de?bju?]n.（電影）首次公映，（唱片）首次發(fā)行，個人首次表演directorn.導(dǎo)演releasev.distribution[d?str?'bju?n]n.(電影，唱片)發(fā)行dressrehearsa

[r?'h?sl]:彩排dub

[d?b]v.(電影)配音leadingactor:主角leadingactress:女主角female/malelead女/男主角lyric

['l?r?k]

n.歌詞subtitle['s?bta?tl]字幕musicchart

[t?ɑt]

:音樂排行榜musicstudio['stjudi??]:錄音棚nominate['n?m?ne?t]v.提名script[skr?pt]n.劇本scriptwriter/playwrightn.編劇sequel['sikw?l]

n.續(xù)集shootafilm:拍電影showbusiness:演藝業(yè)singlen.單曲album專輯supportingactor:配角tragedy['tr?d??di]n.悲劇crane[kre?n]operator攝影升降機操作員electrician燈光師lines臺詞locationsearch勘景producer制作人prop[pr?p]people道具師props道具scenes場景scriptclerk場記setdesigner布景設(shè)計師cast演員表song-and-dance歌舞片soundpeople音效人員special-effects特效specialeffectsperson特殊效果人員TVseries:電視連續(xù)劇ImpressiveinsectThere’snothingmoreannoyingthansettlingdowntosleepandhearingthesoundofamosquito（蚊子）buzzing(嗡嗡叫)aroundonlythoughtmostofusevergivetothisnoiseis“Ineedtogetridofthisinsect,immediately”,butitturnsoutthatthemosquitoisactuallyquiteanimpressivecreature.

AteamofscientistsfromOxfordUniversityintheUK,inpartnershipwiththeRoyalVeterinaryCollegeinLondonandChibaUniversityinJapan,recentlypublishedastudythatfoundsomeinterestingfactsabouttheworld’smostunlovedinsect.

However,itwasn’talwaysstraightforward（簡單的，易懂的）.Byplacingeightcamerasinsideatinyfilmstudio,thescientistswereabletostudyseveralmosquitoesupclose.Thehigh-techcamerasfilmedtheinsectsat1,000frames（鏡頭，畫面）persecond,meaningthescientistswereabletostudytheinsects’movementsinnever-before-seen（從未見過）detail(細節(jié)).

“Recordingmosquitoesduringfree-flightrepresentedahugetechnicalchallengeduetotheirsmallsize,extremewingbeatfrequency(振翅頻率),andthepresenceoflargeantennae(觸角)andlegsthatcanmask（掩蓋，掩飾）theviewoftheirwings,”SimonWalkerofOxfordUniversity,co-authorofthestudy,wrote.

PublishedinthejournalNature,thestudyfoundthatmosquitoesflap（

拍打）theirwingsaround800timesasecond.Asacomparison,housefliesflaptheirwingsabout200timesasecond,andhummingbirds(蜂鳥)50timesasecond.RichardBomphreyoftheRoyalVeterinaryCollege,thestudy’sleader,believesthatmosquitoeshaveauniqueflyingmethodthatsetsthemapartfromotherflyinginsects.

“Wepredictedthattheymustmakeuseofclevertricks,asthewingsreverse(反轉(zhuǎn))theirdirectionattheendofeachhalf-stroke(半程動作),”hewroteinthestudy.

It’shopedthatthediscoveryofthemosquito’sspecialabilitieswillbeofbenefittoengineersinthefuture.Thefindingscouldleadtobetteraircraft,orevenimprovementstotoolslikelenses（鏡頭）orthescientistshopetheirstudycanonedaybeputtoamorehuman-focuseduse.

“Themoreweknowaboutmosquitoes,thebetterourchanceofunderstandingtheirflightbehavior,howtheycarrydiseaseandeventuallyhowtostopthemfromdoingso,”Walkerwrote.FindOwnWaytoLearnHanSiyuisagirlwholikestobreaktherules.Whilemoststudentswereburningthemidnightoil,strugglingtostudyfortheircollegeentranceexamination,the18-year-oldstudentfromNanningNo2HighSchoolinGuangxispenthertimerelaxing.Playingtheguzheng(古箏)afterschoolandreadingcomicsduringbreaks,shetookiteasy.

Despitethis,shebreezedthrough(輕松通過)herexams.With681pointsoutof750,Hanscoredthehighestmarkinthecollegeentranceexaminationamongliberalarts(文科)studentsinGuangxithisyear.

“I’mawillfulgirlwhospendsalotoftimeonmanythings,exceptstudy,”HantoldTEENS.“Butitdoesn’tmeanIdon’tstudy.Infact,theleisuretimehelpsmerefreshmymindandimprovemyefficiency(效率).”Workingharddoesn’tjustmeangluingyourfacetobooks,accordingtoHan.“Howmuchyoulearnismoreimportantthanhowlongyoustudy,”shesaid.

Thehigh-scoringstudentsetsagoodexampleofhowtomakegooduseoftime.Forexample,shebrushedupon(復(fù)習)hersubjectknowledgewhilejogging(慢跑)ontheplaygroundatnight.She’drecallwhattheteacherstaughther,fromthefirstclassinthemorningupuntilthelastquestionbeforetheendoftheday.

Butbeingorganizedisn’ttheonlywaytolearnfast–helpinghandsmatteraswell.Insteadofstudyingalone,Hanenjoyedthebenefitsofschoolstudygroups.“Eachstudygroupworkedtogetheronceaweek,featuringtextrecitation(背誦),passagewriting,ordiscussingtipsonansweringcertainkindsofquestions,”Hanexplained.“OnceIgotfreshideas,filledinthegapsinmynotes,andfiguredoutnewstudymethods,Ifeltexcited.”

Theteenager’shardworkcertainlypaidoff,butwhentalkingaboutherimpressivescore,sheremainedcalmandpeaceful.“Myfathertellsmethatahighscoreisonlytheby-product(副產(chǎn)品)ofmyloveforlearning,”Hansaid.“Idon’tpaymuchattentiontoranking,insteadIlookforwardtohavingafullunderstandingoftheknowledgeI’velearned.Afterall,I’veneverrecognizedstudyingasaburden(負擔).Itrulyloveitfromthebottomofmyheart.”TeslaLaunches推出NewWaytoPowerHomeSolarpanels(太陽能面板)areanenvironmentally-friendlywaytopowerahome,butmanypeopleareputoffbythewaytheylook.Thankfully,UStechfirmTeslasaysithasasolutiontocompanyhasreleaseda“solarroof”–glasstiles(瓦片)containingsolarcells.Energyfromthesuniscollectedbythetilesandtheycanevenstoreitinsideaspecialbattery(電池),fordayswhenthesunisn’tverystrong.“Whenyouhavethisinstalled(安裝)onyourhouse,youwillhavethebest-lookingroofintheneighborhood,”TeslaCEOElonMusktoldUSAToday.

Thetilesarethreetimesstrongerthanregularones,andweighhalfasmuch,accordingtoTesla.Theysharetheappearanceofregulartiles,andcomeindifferentstylestomatcheachhome.Teslaalsooffersalifetimeguarantee(質(zhì)量保證),whichislongerthanthe20-yearlifespanofatraditionalroof,accordingtothecompany.UnusualWordsComeFromHumorLearninganylanguageishard,butlearningEnglishcanbeespeciallychallenging.WhyBecausenativespeakersusethelanguageinwaysthattextbookscouldneverdescribe.Inparticular,wordsthatBritishpeopleusecausemanylanguagestudentstoscratch(抓)theirheads.

Here’sanexample:Youoverhear(碰巧聽到)aBritoncallingsomeonea“wazzock”.ButwhatexactlyisawazzockThisword,infact,meansafoolishperson,althoughthere’snothingaboutitthatwouldhelpyouguessthat.

TherearemanystrangetermslikethisinBritishEnglish–theOxfordEnglishDictionarywouldbemuchsmallerwithoutthesepeculiar(古怪的)usagesfillingitspages.

Howcantheseodd古怪的wordsbeexplainedPartoftheansweristheBritishsenseofhumor.Britonsdon’tliketotakethingstooseriously,andthisisevident明顯的throughmanyBritishwordsandphrases.Forexample,to“spendapenny”meanstousethebathroom.Itreferstothedayswhenpeoplehadtopayapennytouseapublictoilet.

InaninterviewfortheBBC’swebsite,Britishlinguist(語言學家)DavidCrystalsuggestedtheremaybehistoricalreasonsforthesheer(龐大的)numberofoddwordsandphrasesinBritishEnglish.Hethinksthattheybeganinthelate16thandearly17thcenturies.Thiswasagreatageforthetheater,whenShakespeareandotherwritersworkedhardtokeepupwiththedemandfornewplays.Thetheater’spopularityalsocreatedanincentive(刺激)toinventnewwords.

Withthisin