释义:
“source”是可数名词,字面意思是“河流的源头”,可以引申为“XX 的来源”,比如“收入来源”就可以说成“a source of income”。a source of 后常接抽象名词,比如 delight、strength、happiness、progress 等,是个非常实用、地道的写法。
例句:
种族和文化多样性一直被视为美国的优势,
Racial and cultural diversity has long been considered a source of strength for the US.
拳王阿里去世之后,《经济学人》给他写了一篇讣告,里面提到打拳击获得冠军并没有给他带来快乐,是这样写的:
Conquering the world, as he had done time after time with pure punching skill, did not now seem the source of true happiness.
《经济学人》在一篇讨论安乐死的社论中这样写道:
Liberty and autonomy are sources of human dignity.
也就是说,是自由和自治赋予了人们尊严。
从上面几句可以看出,要真正掌握一个单词,查英汉字典是不够的,有时候甚至查英英字典也不够。我们需要在阅读时注意常见词汇的意思和常见搭配,在语境中掌握一个词的真正用法。
另外,我们要注意中英文表达的区别。我们平时想表达“XX的来源”时,会很容易就想到“a source of X”,不过英文的“a source of X”可以表达的意思远远多于“XX的来源”。比如例句中的“得益于” “赋予” “带来”,很多时候都可以用到“a source of X”。在学习词汇时,要多留意中英文表达习惯的不同,积累的越多,我们的口语、写作和翻译就会变得越地道。
翻译:
姚明和刘翔让上海人感到骄傲。
Yao Ming and Liu Xiang is a source of Shanghai's pride. (注意单复数; 上海人:Shanghainese people )
参考翻译:Yao Ming and Liu Xiang are a source of pride for Shanghainese people.
造句:
The Internet is the major source of information.
Tourism is the main source of income for local cities.