本文经授权转载自微信公众号:田间小站
TOEFL SAT TEM8 GRE TOEIC
外刊例句
- Not that long ago, the world wondered whether clean energy could survive without lavish government support. Now the question is how far it can spread.
不久之前,整个世界还不确定清洁能源是否能在没有政府大力支持的情况下维持下去,现在的问题则是它的影响能有多深远。
——《经济学人》 - With its lavish banquets, helicopter escapes and sweeping descriptions of Singapore’s lush coast, Kevin Kwan’s novel “Crazy Rich Asians” practically begs to be turned into a film.
凯文·关的小说《疯狂的亚洲富豪》描述了豪华的宴会、乘直升飞机度假,以及新加坡郁郁葱葱的海岸,简直太适合改编成电影了。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] sumptuously rich, elaborate, or luxurious
[形容词] 奢华般富有的、精致的或豪华的
深入解读
Lavish 一词源自拉丁语 lavare (洗),经中古法语 lavasse (暴雨、洪水)进入英语,原指“大量的花费或给予(bestow)”。
当花费或给予的量像洪水暴雨那般多时,留给人的印象除了“大量的”和“耗资巨大的”以外, 自然还有“非常慷慨的、过分大方的”和“奢华的、豪华的”,而这就构成了 lavish 如今的主要含义,强调给人印象深刻,比如:
- 美国评论家们对该珍本不吝赞美之词。
American reviewers are lavish in their praise of this scarce book. - 晚会很豪华,食物精美可口,香槟酒源源不断。但她觉察到他们的欢迎有点冷淡。
The evening was a lavish affair with glorious food and an endless supply of champagne. But she discerned a certain coldness in their welcome.
褒义的奢华往往伴随着贬义的挥霍,所以 lavish 用作贬义时,则可以指“铺张的、挥霍的、行为毫无节制的”,比如:
- 评论家暗地里抨击他大肆挥霍、恣意张扬的作风。
Critics attacked his lavish spending and flamboyant style in a covert way.
另外, lavish 也可以作动词使用,表示“滥花、浪费”或“过分慷慨地给予”,常用搭配为 lavish sth on/upon sb/sth ,比如:
- 那位端庄的母亲对她的小儿子过于关爱。
The demure mother lavishes most of her attention on her youngest son. - 他毫不犹豫地狂吻了他的妻子。
He lavished his wife with kisses without demur.
名著用例
So, from the cradle to the grave, women strove to make men pleased with themselves, and the satisfied men repaid lavishly with gallantry and adoration.
所以,从摇篮到坟墓,女人们始终是在努力让男人过得舒服,而满意的男人则以殷勤和崇拜来慷慨回报她们。
出自美国作家玛格丽特·米切尔(Margaret Mitchell)创作的长篇小说《飘》(Gone with the Wind)。该小说在1937年获得普利策奖,是玛格丽特·米切尔在世时出版的唯一一部作品。不但它成为美国史上最为畅销的小说之一,而且由这部小说所改编的同名电影《乱世佳人》也成为影史上不朽的经典。
同近义词
- sumptuous: splendid and expensive-looking
- luxurious: extremely comfortable or elegant, especially when involving great expense
- lush: very rich and providing great sensory pleasure