(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
What is the 2016 Word of the Year?
The American dictionary Merriam-Webster has named "surreal" its 2016 Word of the Year.
Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary defines the adjective as "very strange or unusual" or "having the quality of a dream."
The word entered the English language in the 1930s, following the artistic movement known as surrealism.
Merriam-Webster says searches for "surreal" rose after several world events and tragedies in the past year.
Major increases in the number of lookups directly followed the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France, the overthrow attempt in Turkey, the Brexit vote, and the death of American musician Prince.
But, Merriam-Webster reports, the largest increase in searches for "surreal" came just after the United States presidential election last month.
Its meaning comes from the word's two parts. The word "real" comes after the preposition "sur," which means "above" or "over" in the French language.
"Surreal" is often used to describe something shocking. People might use the word when they cannot believe -- or do not want to believe -- reality.
"Surreal" can have a negative or positive meaning. For example, the Grand Canyon or a trip to the Moon could be described as surreal.
Other popular words of 2016 include revenant, icon, and bigly, Merriam-Webster says.
Revenant means "one that returns after death." It comes from the French verb for "return." The Oscar-winning Hollywood film "The Revenant" drove this word's popularity.
People searched for the word "icon" in high numbers following the death of pop star Prince. It means "a person who is very successful and admired."
"Bigly" became hugely popular after many people thought U.S. President-elect Donald Trump used the word during a presidential debate.
People questioned whether the adjective "big" can be used as an adverb in the English language.
But language experts agreed that Trump actually said "big league." This expression describes something very successful or high-level. Trump used it as an adverbial phrase.
Language experts also agreed that "bigly" is a word, although it is not often used.
Other dictionaries have also announced their 2016 words of the year.
The Oxford-English Dictionary chose "post-truth," which describes situations in which "facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief." The phrase became popular during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Dictionary.com named "xenophobia" its Word of the Year. It means "fear or hatred of foreigners." A huge increase in searches for the word happened on June 24 -- one day after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
词汇解析
1.artistic movement 艺术运动
This, I believe, will very much benefit the whole literary and artistic movement.
我认为这是对整个文学艺术运动很有益处的。
2.known as 被认为；被称作
She is known as a great beauty.
她是出了名的大美女。
3.look up 仰望；查阅
I looked your address up in the personnel file.
我在人事档案里找到了你的地址。
4.terrorist attack 恐怖袭击
The terrorist attack left many dead and wounded.
恐怖袭击造成多人死伤。
内容解析
1.which describes situations in which "facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
public opinion 民意；公众舆论
He mobilized public opinion all over the world against hydrogen-bomb tests.
他动员全世界的舆论反对氢弹试验。
New public opinion polls show the president's approval rating at its lowest point since he took office.
新的民意调查显示总统的支持率跌到了他就职以来的最低点。
2.Merriam-Webster says searches for "surreal" rose after several world events and tragedies in the past year.
searches for 搜寻；搜索
You can use a directory service to search for people on the Internet.
你可以利用因特网的目录服务搜索人名。
My life has been music, and a constant search for it has been the mainspring of my life
我以音乐为生，对音乐的不懈探索已经成为我生活的动力。
参考译文
2016年度词汇纷纷出炉 世态民情尽在其中
美国《韦氏词典》确定将“超现实”（surreal）一词选为2016年度词汇。
《韦氏学习词典》将其解释为：“离奇或与众不同的”抑或“梦幻般的”。
上世纪30年代，该词汇因“超现实主义的艺术运动”首次在英语中出现。
《韦氏词典》表示，去年数起全球重大事件和悲剧发生后，“超现实”的搜索量有所增加。
在比利时、法国的恐怖袭击、土耳其政变、英国退欧公投及美国音乐家普林斯去世等事件发生后，该词汇的查询量暴涨。
然而，《韦氏词典》报告称，上月美国总统大选结束后，“超现实”一词的查询量猛增。
该词含义源于词汇的两个组成部分。Real放在前置词sur之后，sur在法语中的意思为“在...之上”。
Surreal常用来描述令人震惊的事情。人们不相信或不愿意相信现实时就会用该词汇表达。
Surreal有负面和正面双重含义。例如，可以将大峡谷或月球旅行称之为超现实。
《韦氏词典》表示，2016年的热门词汇还包括亡魂（revenant），偶像（icon）和高水平的（bigly）。
Revenant指死而复生的人。该词源于法语动词“归来”。斩获奥斯卡奖的好莱坞电影《荒野猎人《The Revenant》使该词再次成为热门词汇。
流行音乐明星普林斯去世后，icon（偶像）一词登上了热搜榜，该词意指“非常成功和极受爱戴的人”。
很多人以为美国候任总统川普在总统竞选期间提到了Bigly，于是该词汇开始走红。
人们纷纷质疑形容词big能否在英语作副词。
但是语言专家认为川普说的是big league，该词意为非常成功或高水平。川普将它作为一个副词短语。
语言专家还指出，bigly的确是个单词，只是并不常见。
其它词典也纷纷选出了2016年度词汇。
牛津字典选择了后真相（post-truth）——在影响公众舆论方面，客观事实的影响力不及诉诸于情感和个人信念。在2016美国总统大选期间，该词开始走红。
Dictionary.com确定将“xenophobia（仇外）”选为2016年度词汇，该词汇意为“对外国势力的恐惧或仇恨”。英国公投退欧后的6月24日，该词的搜索量剧增。
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译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
