(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
The American English dictionary Merriam-Webster recently added a lot of new words to its online site.
Learning English reporter Bryan Lynn looked into the changes. He's joined me in the studio to talk about some of the new words.
Hi Bryan.
Hi Ashley.
First off, how often does Merriam Webster add words? Is this a yearly event?
No, actually it's not. The last time the company added new words online was 2014. But an editor at large, Peter Solokowski, said Merriam Webster had been "watching" some of the added words for many, many years. Others, he said, were much newer in use.
So where do they come from?
Everywhere, really. I mean the new terms cover areas including science, technology, sports, pop culture. Most will probably be familiar to you.
Okay. So, for example...
Well, how about the verb "binge-watch?"
Oh yes. I binge watch television shows sometimes...always! That means to watch many episodes of a series in a short period of time. To binge, in this case, means to do a lot of something in a short amount of time.
Right...so in this case, I guess, watching one after the other for a few hours straight. Some people might watch a whole season of a show over a few days.
So here's another from the list you collected: Seussian. Some Learning English fans outside America might not know this one.
Yeah, so Seussian is an adjective that refers to the American children's book writer known as Dr. Seuss. He wrote these fantastical books for young children that included fun rhymes and colorful pictures.
Like "The Cat and the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham."
"‘I will not eat them, Sam-I-Am.'" The books made you laugh but they also helped a lot of kids learn to read. So anything that reminds a person of a Dr. Seuss world could be Seussian.
Okay. "Green Eggs and Ham" was the first book I ever read, actually. Another one on your list is photobomb. That's when someone jumps in front of a camera uninvited. It's usually done as a joke. I've seen some pretty funny photos that were the result of a really good photobomb!
Right, yeah. Photobombing is more of a prank. But, you know, it's not meant "to throw shade on anyone."
Oh, so I guess that is another newly added phrase, to throw shade?
Yes, it is. So, it is a slang expression that means to publicly express disrespect or dislike for someone. But to "throw shade" the insult or offense has to be subtle or understated.
Okay. So, among the new words are slang expressions, as well...
Correct. So, one of those is ghost.
We all know what that means as a noun, but...
Right, but as a verb it means to abruptly cut off contact.
Mhmm. I have friends who have been quite hurt by people who have just ghosted on them, without any explanation. It's not a very nice thing to do.
Right, so I mean, with the slang words you could even pile on top, right? You could throw shade and also ghost the same person.
Oh...Okay, so here is another word on this list: microaggression. So is ghosting an example of microaggression?
Well, microaggression is a noun. It's a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a minority group.
Okay, so that sounds a little more serious than "ghosting."
It is.
Alright, so this next word is not slang and I'm not really sure most people know what this one means: prosopagnosia.
Yes, so this is a noun and it does have a scientific meaning -- the inability to recognize faces.
Okay, so like a face-blindness.
Exactly, that's what it would be. Blind to faces.
Well, this has been really interesting, Bryan. Thanks for joining me in studio here. And to our listeners, let us know if you liked this and maybe we can do more of this in the future.
I'm Ashley Thompson.
And I'm Bryan Lynn.
重点解析
1.first off 首先
First off, the whole idea of budgeting is to get a very clear picture of where your money is going every month.
首先，预算就是把你的每个月花钱的去向做出一个清楚的表格。
2.at large 在逃的;未被捕获的;大多数;一般;普遍
But the mere discussion of these matters in the British Parliament and by the public at large is, in itself, of huge importance.
但是，仅仅是在英国国会讨论这些问题，并且得到广大民众的关注。 这本身就有极其重大的意义。
3.blind to 无视于······；对······熟视无睹
You should not be blind to the beauties of nature.
你不应该对自然界的美丽景色视而不见。
参考译文
美语韦氏词典最近在它的网站上新收录了许多新词。
VOA学英语的记者布莱恩·林恩仔细研究了这个变化。他加入了我的播音室和我一起聊聊部分这些新词。
布莱恩，你好。
你好，阿什丽。
首先，韦氏词典多久更新一次？是一年一次吗？
不，不是这样的。这家公司上次网上收录新词是在2014年。一名普通编辑彼得·索洛科夫斯基说，韦氏词典已经关注了新词中的一些单词很多年。其他单词都比较新。
那么这些新词都出自哪里？
实际上哪里都有可能。我意思是这些新词覆盖包括科学，技术，体育，流行文化等领域。大多数新词也许你很熟悉。
好的。那么，例如······
好的，例如动词“binge-watch”（狂看）?
对。我有时候······总是狂看电视节目！那意思是在短时间内看一个系列的很多集。“binge”在这种情形里意思是在极短的时间里做很多的事情。
对的······所以这种情形，我想，一个接一个看了几个小时。一些人可能在几天之内看完全季的剧。
这里是你搜集的列表里的另一个单词：Seussian（苏斯）。一些不是美国的英语爱好者可能不知道这个单词。
是的，苏斯是一个形容词，指代美国的儿童读物作家苏斯博士。他为小朋友们写了这些奇幻的书，包括有趣的儿歌和彩色图片。
比如“猫和帽子”和“绿鸡蛋和火腿”。
“‘我不会吃的，我是山姆。’”这些书不仅能让你大笑，还能帮助小朋友们学会读书。所以任何能让人想起苏斯世界中的人物的东西都可以称为苏斯。
好的。“绿鸡蛋和火腿”实际上是我读的第一本书。你列表里另一个单词是“photobomb（抢镜头）”。那是指一个人在未受邀的情况下突然闯入镜头。这种通常是一个玩笑。我见过一些由于抢镜而变得特别有趣的照片！
是的，对。抢镜更多时候是一种恶作剧。但，你知道，这并不意味是在“公开蔑视（to throw shade on anyone）”。
哦，那么我猜那是另一个新增的短语，“throw shade（蔑视）”？
是的。这是个俚语，意思是公开表达对某人的不尊敬或厌恶。但要用侮辱或冒犯的言辞进行“蔑视”的话还是应该隐晦一些或者轻描淡写地说。
好的。那么这些新词都是俚语，也······
对的。这些新词里有一个是“ghost（幽灵）”。
我们都知道这个单词是名词，但······
对的，但作为动词，它意思是突然切断联系（ghost）。
嗯。我有朋友就因为别人没有任何解释就和他们断了联系而觉得很受伤。这不是什么好事。
对，所以我意思是，有了这些俚语，你甚至可以叠用，对吗？你可以蔑视一个人，也可以和这个人断联系。
哦······好的，列表上的这个单词：microaggression（微歧视）。那么切断联系是微歧视的一种表现吗？
“微歧视”是个名词。它是指言语或行为微妙地，或者经常无意识地或者无意地透露出对某个边缘族群的偏见态度。
好的，这听起来比切断联系还严重。
是的。
好的，接下来这个单词不是俚语，我真得不太确定大多数人会知道这个词的意思：prosopagnosia（脸盲症）。
是的，这是个名词，而且这个词确实有科学解释——无法分辨面孔。
好的，和脸盲很像。
确切地说，那就是它的意思。对面部熟视无睹。
好吧，这些真得很有趣，布莱恩。谢谢你来到演播室。至于我们的听众朋友，让我们知道你们是否喜欢这期节目，也许我们未来可以做更多此类节目。
我是阿什丽·汤普森
我是布莱恩·林恩。
