| 单词 | 惯用法 |
| 释义 | 〔affinity〕In general usageaffinity should not be used as a simple synonym for liking. In an earlier survey, a majority of the Usage Panel rejected the example 在惯用法上affinity 不能简单地作为 liking 的同义词。 在早些时候的调查中，大多数用法使用小组的成员反对下面的例子： 〔help〕Some grammarians condemn this usageon the ground thathelp in this sense means "avoid" and logically requires a negative.But the expression is a well-established idiom.See Usage Note at cannot 有些语法家对这种用法提出了批评意见，理由是help 在这个句子里表示“避免”的意思， 所以从逻辑上讲应用否定形式。但是这种表达已经成为一种被广泛接受的惯用法了 参见 cannot〔formula〕An established form of words or symbols for use in a ceremony or procedure.惯用法：用于典礼、仪式或礼节的惯用语或标志〔usage〕The way in which words or phrases are actually used, spoken, or written in a speech community.惯用法：单词或短语在言语集团中实际上的使用或说写的方式〔gift〕Gift has a long history of use as a verb meaning "to present as a gift; endow.” The practice appears to provide a useful distinction,in as much as the verbgive can sometimes be ambiguous between "to transfer physical possession" and "to transfer ownership"; and in fact a verb analogous togift is found in a number of other languages (for example, Italianregalare, "to give as a gift,” from regalo, "gift, present"). Unfortunately the verbal use ofgift in Modern English is irredeemably tainted (as is its derivative giftable ) by its association with the language of advertising and publicity (as in Gift her with this copper warming plate ). In an earlier surveythe usage was rejected by a large majority of the Usage Panel.Where clarity is required, substitutessuch asgive as a gift, bestow, or donate are recommended. · The phrasefree gift should, of course, be considered redundant. But the increasing currency of its use is indicative mainly of the degree to which the wordgift itself has been expropriated by advertisers to refer to merchandise offerings to which an obligation is attached—if not a direct price, then taking a test drive,sitting through a sales pitch, or enrolling in a book club.It is perhaps to this use ofgift, rather than to the redundancy free gift, that critics ought most strenuously to object. Gift 作动词意为“赠送礼物，赠予”的用法已有很长的历史了， 这种惯用法的出现提供了有用的区分，因为作为动词give 可能有时会在“传递有形财产“和”传递所有权“之间有模棱两可的意思； 但事实上类似于gift 的词是在其它语言上建立起来的 （如意大利语的regalare “作为礼物给予”来自于 regalo “礼物，礼品”）。 不幸的是gift 在现代英语中动词性质的用法由于广告语言和公众语言的联系而不可挽回地被污染了（如它的派生词 giftable ）（又如在 给她这个铜暖盘作为礼物 ）。 在较早的一个调查中，这种用法被大部分的用法专题使用小组的成员所反对。为了在此处的用法更清晰的一些替代词，如give as a gift, bestow 或 donate 被采纳了。 词组free gift 自然是应该被认为是多余的， 但是这种用法的迅速使用主要表示了gift 这个词被广告商所侵用而用来指提供商品优惠是一种附加的义务——如果不是直接的价格， 那么就参加一次竞赛活动，等待商品广告宣传或在一个读书俱乐部中报名登记。也许gift 的这种用法应该比冗余的 free gift 更为批评家所坚决反对 〔presently〕An original meaning ofpresently was "at the present time; currently.” That sense is said to have disappeared from the literary language in the 17th century,but it has survived in popular usage and is widely found nowadays in literate speech and writing.Still, there is a lingering prejudice against this use.In the most recent surveythe sentenceGeneral Walters is . . . presently the United States Ambassador to the United Nations was acceptable to exactly 50 percent of the Usage Panel. presenthy 的一个原始意为“现在，目前”。 那种意义据说在17世纪时从文学性语言中消失，但在大众用法中仍旧存在并且现今广泛存在于受过教育人的口头语和书面语之中，然而反对这一用法的成见仍然存在。在最近的调查中华特士将军…最近是美利坚合众国驻联合国大使 这句话的接受率在词语惯用法小组里正好为百分之五十。 〔barrel〕Abbr. bar.,bbl,bbl.,bl.Any of various units of volume or capacity. In the U.S. Customary System it varies, as a liquid measure, from 31 to 42 gallons (120 to 159 liters) as established by law or usage. See table at measurement 缩写 bar.,bbl,bbl.,bl.一桶液量之单位：许多体积或容量单位的任一个。在美国惯用系统中，它作为液体测量单位，数值在被法规或惯用法确立的数值31加仑到42加仑（120到159升）之间变动 参见 measurement〔peruse〕Peruse has long meant "to read thoroughly" and is often used loosely when one could use the wordread instead. The worst that can be said about the latter use is that it is excessively literary or precious.However, common misuse of the word in the sense "to glance over, skim,” as inI only had a moment to peruse the manual quickly, was unacceptable to 66 percent of the Usage Panel. Peruse 很久一直意指“详尽地阅读”， 经常在能用read 这个词时不严谨地用来取代它。 能够提及的后一种用法中最差的一种便是极端文学或过分矫揉造作的。然而，对于百分之六十六的惯用法研究小组成员来说，意为“浏览或略读”的该词的通常错误用法是不能接受的，如在句我只有一会儿时间来迅速浏览这本手册 中 〔banal〕The pronunciation ofbanal is not settled among educated speakers of American English. Sixty years ago, H.W. Fowler recommended the pronunciation BAN-al (rhyming withpanel ), but this pronunciation is now regarded as recondite by most Americans:it is preferred by only 2 percent of the Usage Panel.Other possibilities are BANE-al (rhyming withanal ), preferred by 38 percent of the Panel; ba-NAL (rhyming withcanal ), preferred by 46 percent; and ba-NAHL (the last syllable rhyming withdoll ), preferred by 14 percent (this last pronunciation is more common in British English).Some panelists admit to being so vexed by the problem that they tend to avoid the word in conversation.Speakers can perhaps take comfort in knowing that any one of the last three pronunciations will have the support of a substantial minority, and that none of them is incorrect.When several pronunciations of a word are widely used,there is really no right or wrong one.单词banal 的发音在受过教育的讲美式英语的人中并未固定下来。 六十年前，H.W.福勒曾建议其发音为BAN-al（与panel 押韵）， 但大多数美国人认为这一发音是晦涩难懂的：它只得到“惯用法专题研究小组”中2%成员的偏爱。另外可能的发音有BANE-al（与anal 押韵），得到38小组成员的认可； ba-NAL（与canal 押韵）得到46的认可； ba-NAHL（最后一个音节与doll 押韵），得到14的认可 （这最后一个发音在英国英语中更为常用）。一些小组成员承认，这个词的发音令他们太伤脑筋了以至他们在说话时尽量避免使用它。当使用者得知最后三个发音中的任何一个都有较为坚实的少数票的支持，且它们中的任何一个都不是错误的，也许会给他们一些安慰。当一个单词的几种发音都被广泛使用时，便的确无所谓对错了 |
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