1. 这是什么词?
词:engine
英英释义:something powerful that causes great changes in society
例句:China is one of the most powerful engines of the world economy.
2. 为什么选这个词?
我们很熟悉“engine”是“引擎”“发动机”的意思,和我们前面学习的许多名词一样,它也有引申的用法。像发动机可以带动机器运行一样,engine 常可以用来表示“可以引发巨大改变的事物”“带动发展的事物”,比如微信就是腾讯的 engine。
我们一起看几个例子。比如,有人说中国是带动全球经济增长最强劲的引擎之一,我们就可以说:
China is one of the most powerful engines of the world economy.
《纽约时报》在一篇名为 China Rules 的文章中回顾了中国的发展,说到中国社会结构转型时,有这样一段话:
Bureaucrats who were once obstacles to growth became engines of growth.
曾经阻碍发展的官员们,如今成为了发展的核心力量。
最新的一期《经济学人》中也出现了 engine 的这种用法:
The good reason for more powerful firms is the rise of an innovative elite that is an engine of efficiency.
更多巨头公司的出现得益于一批具有创新精神的精英群体的崛起,后者正是效率的驱动引擎。
3. 怎样学会使用这个词?
1)翻译下面的句子:
过去几年投资是中国经济的引擎,现在主要是消费在拉动中国经济。
While investment was the engine of China's economy a few years ago, today it's mainly driven by consumption.
(参考翻译:While investment was the engine of China's economy a few years ago, today it's mainly driven by consumption. 或 In the past few years, China's economy was driven mainly by investment, whereas today its engine is consumption.)
2)结合自己的生活、学习、工作、兴趣等,想象在什么语境下会用到这个表达。先简要描述这个场景,再造句。
例子: 自己的愿望是行动的引擎。
场景 :The willingness is the engine of action.