hurdle n.
释义:a problem or difficulty that you must deal with before you can achieve something
“hurdle”是可数名词,本意是“栏架”,常被引申为“障碍”,常见、好用、形象。当我们想表达“克服XX障碍”“解决XX问题”时,除了使用 problem、difficulty、obstacle 外,还可以使用 hurdle。
例① 我们经常会说,生活就是解决一个又一个问题,不断往前走的过程。
Life is all about jumping over one hurdle after another and keeping moving on.(注意 and 连接的 jumping 和 keeping 的一致性。)
hurdle 前面经常搭配的动词除了上面的 jump over,还有 clear、overcome等。
例② 创业会面临一系列的挑战,例如融资、招人、持续增长等。
To run a start-up, one needs to clear a series of hurdles, and securing enough funding is simply one of them.
通常还可以在 hurdle 前面加上一个形容词,来说明是哪方面的障碍。上面的句子也可以改写成:
例③ Every entrepreneur has to clear the financial hurdle to get their project started.(hurdle 前面用 financial 修饰,说明是资金方面的障碍。)
例④ 我们想说“滴滴在刚开始的时候需要搞定政府监管”,“政府监管”就可以说成是“regulatory hurdle”:
When Didi, a Chinese cab-hailing app, first started, it had to overcome the regulatory hurdle.
【作业】
1. 使用《牛津英语搭配词典》查 “hurdle”,了解它作为名词时的常用搭配。
clear, jump (over) hurdle 跃过;跳过:
big, difficult hurdle 大障碍;难关
main, major hurdle 主要障碍
final, first, last, next hurdle 最后的障碍;第一关;最后一关;下一关
face 面临障碍
clear, jump, overcome, pass 清除障碍;跨越障碍;渡过难关
2. 翻译:中国学生申请赴美留学面临的一大障碍是托福考试。
Chinese students have to clear a big hurdle which is TOEFL, to be admitted to the US universities.
(参考翻译:A big hurdle that Chinese students who wish to study in the US face is TOEFL. 或 To get admitted to US colleges, Chinese students have to clear a difficult hurdle: TOEFL, an English language proficiency test.)
3.造句练习
场景:留守儿童在生活和教育上面临各种问题,如难沟通,学习成绩不理想等。
造句: Left-Behind children are facing series of hurdles in both life and education, poor academic record is simply one of them.