参考词典:Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary ,Collins Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,Roger’s Thesaurus。
今日学习单词:suffice 。
初见这个单词,有些面熟。查阅之后才知道,原来是 sufficient 的动词形式。
Merriam-Webster’s 释义:
To be or provide as much as is needed: to be sufficient
No, you don't need to write a letter. A phone call will suffice.
不,你不需要写信。打个电话足够了。
Her example alone should suffice to show that anything is possible.
仅她的例子就足以说明一切皆有可能。
注意释义中有一个as much as is needed,表明suffice 用于结果很容易判定/预测的场景,说明了陈述者的立场和观点。在陈述者看来,做这些/这些物品已经足够了。
高频短语:suffice (it) to say - used to say that you could give more information about something but that the statement that follows is enough 无需多说,只需要说 … 就够了。
本可以给出更多信息,但已经给出的信息已经足够了。
First, the car wouldn't start, and then I got stuck in traffic–suffice it to say, there was no way I could get here on time.
首先,车无法启动,然后我还被堵在车流中。无需多言,我更本不可能按时抵达。
Suffice to say, she has a lot on her hands with four children.
可以这么说,四个孩子让她负担很重。
Collins 释义:
1. If you say that something will suffice, you mean it will be enough to achieve a purpose or to fulfill a need.
A cover letter should never exceed one page; often a far shorter letter will suffice.
附信不应超过一页,通常来说,一封相对非常简短的信就足够了。
2. Suffice it to say or suffice to say is used at the beginning of a statement to indicate that what you are saying is obvious, or that you will only give a short explanation.
Suffice it to say that afterwards we never met again...
简单地说,此后我们再也没有见过面。
Suffice to say, it was more than a couple of years ago!
我只想说,那是几年前的事了!
可以看到,Collins 的释义更加直白,作为动词,suffice 作为 “足够”表达的是对于实现某个目的或满足某个需求。在今后的英语口语和写作中,可以使用 suffice 这个词来实现语言表达的多样化,而不是的单一的“something is enough” 。
Roget Thesaurus 释义:
To meet a need or requirement: answer, do, serve, suit
可以用answer, do, serve, suit 来进行词语替换,代替 suffice。不过我感觉用 suffice 更高级一些。当然,尤其在写作中,不能通篇用同一个词,还是要适当变化一下。
今日造句作业:
1. 对于高阶英语学习者来说,每天学一个词是不够的。
It will not suffice to learn only a new word every day for advanced English learners.
词典上没有这样的例句,不知道用形式主语可不可以表达,我就大胆用一次吧。我理解只要词语用法没错,句子结构可以灵活一些。希望英语达人可以提出批评和意见。
2. 还是健身场景。中秋节小长假第二天,我决定挑战一下自己,做了10次7分钟锻炼(包含拉伸),也就是锻炼了70分钟。感觉那个酸爽,第二天痛不欲生。所以,还是不要冒进,一步一步来吧。对于我自己而言,每天7分钟的锻炼足够了。
Suffice to say that a 7-minute workout will be the best choice for me.