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考研 TEM8
外刊例句
- The swaps offered by China are symbolically important, but are “more like straws than lifelines” for countries gasping for liquidity, says Eswar Prasad of Cornell University.
康奈尔大学的埃斯瓦尔·普拉萨德认为,中国提供的货币互换有重要的象征意义,但对于渴求流动性的国家来说是杯水车薪。
——《经济学人》 - It was the last gasp of the 1980s, a time of Champagne, garish colors and bubbly disco dance-floor anthems, and the last time many people in Japan felt rich and ascendant.
那是1980年代的最后一丝气息,那是一个充满香槟、艳丽色彩和欢快迪斯科舞曲的时代,也是许多日本人感觉自己富有、蒸蒸日上的最后时代。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] inhale suddenly with the mouth open, out of pain or astonishment
[动词] 突然张开嘴吸气,出于痛苦或惊讶
深入解读
Gasp 一词可能源自古北欧语 geispa (打哈欠),14世纪末期进入英语时原指“张大嘴巴、呼气”,现在则主要表示“喘气、喘息、倒抽气”,多指因为惊讶、震惊或疼痛等强烈情感而引起的突然张嘴吸气,比如:
- 她看到藏在竹丛里的钱时,惊得倒吸了一口气。
When she saw the money hidden in the bamboo thicket she gasped in surprise.
初学游泳时,常常会喘着气呼吸空气并吸入一大口水(gasped for air and drew in a lungful of water )。类似于这种对空气的急切需要, be gasping for sth 这个表达在英式口语中就被用来表示“渴望、很想要某物”,多指饮料或香烟等,比如:
- 他口渴难熬,想喝杯温吞的茶。
He is gasping for a cup of tepid tea.
但若是将 for 换成 out 或 forth 构成 gasp out/forth ,则是指“喘着气说、气喘呼呼地说、透不过气地说”,比如:
- 喘着气请求饶恕
gasp out a plea for mercy
另外, gasp 也可以用来形容“发出喘气似的声音”,比如:
- 那一大桶燕麦粥在崭新的电炉上扑哧扑哧作响。
The vat of oatmeal stood gasping on the pristine electric range.
所以用作名词时,除了表示“喘气、喘息、倒抽气”这个动作外,还可以指“上气不接下气的声音、短促的声音”,比如:
- 发出一声微弱短促的惊叫
give a feeble frightened gasp
除此之外, gasp 还有个习语叫 the last gasp ,字面意思是“临终、垂死”或者说“奄奄一息、苟延残喘之际”,引申出来则表示“最终阶段、最后时刻”,与之对应的形容词则是 last-gasp 或 last-ditch (最后时刻做成或取得的、最后关头的),比如:
- 即使是奄奄一息,顽固的敌人也还是要作垂死挣扎的。
Even though at their last gasp, the diehard enemies will still put up their deathbed struggle. - 为了避免他所在的政党在大选中惨败,他使出了最后一招——辞去了领导职务。
He resigned in a last-gasp attempt to save his party from electoral fiasco.
名著用例
But Hermione gave a sudden gasp, pointing down the corridor.
赫敏突然倒抽一口冷气,指着走廊的下方。
出自英国作家J.K.罗琳创作的长篇小说《哈利·波特与密室》(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)。该小说是《哈利·波特》系列的第二部。
同近义词
- gulp: breathe in (air) deeply and quickly
- pant: breathe with short, quick breaths, typically from exertion or excitement
- puff: breathe in repeated short gasps