本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
TEM8 TOEIC
外刊例句
- Generous subsidies perpetuate today’s low-carbon technologies; the goal should be to usher in tomorrow’s.
慷慨的补贴成就了今天的低碳技术，但目标应该是开拓明天的技术。
——《经济学人》 - Apple’s digital wallet, if widely adopted, could usher in a new era of ease and convenience.
苹果公司的数字钱包如果获得广泛采用，可能将开启一个方便快捷的新时代。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[noun] a person who shows people to their seats, especially in a theater or at a wedding
[名词] （尤指在剧院或婚礼上）带人们到座位上的人
深入解读
Usher 一词源自古法语 ussier, uissier （门卫、门房），13世纪末进入英语后用来表示“负责看门和准许人员进入的仆人”，发展到现在则是指婚礼、音乐会、电影院、剧院等正式或公共场所的“引座员、招待员、迎宾员”，比如：
- 那个用枕头闷死了一位守法公民的人在一家戏院兼职当引座员。
The man who smothered a law-abiding citizen with a pillow did part-time work as an usher in a theatre.
用作动词时， usher 自然表示“引导、引领、把……引往”，强调亲自带着某人去某个位置，比如：
- 她把我们领进她的办公室，给我们倒了咖啡。我说咖啡会让我睡不着，暗示不想喝咖啡。
She ushered us into her office and offered us coffee. By saying that coffee would keep me awake, I implicated that I didn't want any.
而在正式表达中，更为常见的是用动词短语 usher sth↔in 表示“开创、创始、开启”，多用于形容某种重大的变化或新事物，比如：
- 数字时代远没有为繁荣与稳定的美好未来铺平道路，而是有望开创如同工业时代到来所带来的那般深刻的政治和社会变革。
Far from paving the way for a halcyon future of prosperity and stability, the digital era promises to usher in as profound a political and social transformation as that wrought by the arrival of the industrial age. - 抱怨服务差已是耳熟能详的老调了。我们希望更换领导班子可以带来新思想和新政策。
Complaints about poor service have become a familiar refrain. We hope the change of management can usher in fresh ideas and policies.
另外值得注意的是， usher 作名词时还可以在法院、大学等里表示“传达员、门房”，以及在英式英语中表示“法庭庭警”。
权威用例
胸怀千秋伟业，恰是百年风华。
The CPC bears its eternal great cause in mind, and the centenary only ushers in the prime of life.
同近义词
- attendant: a person employed to provide a service to the public in a particular place
- escort: a person who may be hired to accompany someone to a social event
- commissionaire: a uniformed door attendant at a hotel, theater, or other building
