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外刊例句
- The biggest such firm, Lending Club, based in San Francisco, listed its shares in December to a clamour reminiscent of the 1999 tech boom.
这类公司中的最大户、总部位于旧金山的 Lending Club 于去年12月挂牌上市,引发的喧哗让人想起1999年的科技热潮。
——《经济学人》 - As Okinawans' clamor for the expulsion of U.S. bases grows, Tokyo and Washington are listening.
随着冲绳人要求撤走美军基地的呼声与日俱增,美日政府也开始正视这一问题。
——《时代周刊》
基本释义
[noun] a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently
[名词] 嘈杂而混乱的声音,尤指人们激烈叫喊的声音
深入解读
Clamor 是一个容易与 clamber (攀爬)相混淆的单词,从上面两个外刊例句不难发现该词有两种拼法,在英式英语和美式英语中分别拼作 clamour 和 clamor 。
从词源上来说, clamor 一词源自拉丁语 clamor (一声大声喊叫、一声大声呼叫),14世纪末经古法语 clamor (呼叫、呼喊、呼吁、呐喊)进入英语后,既作本义表示“持续的叫喊”以及随之形成的嘈杂而混乱的“吵闹声、喧嚷声”,常作正式用语使用,尤指人们激烈叫喊的声音,比如:
- 人声鼎沸
a clamor of voices - 城市的喧嚣
the clamor of the city
也引申指大量人吵吵闹闹强烈表达要求、责难、抗议等的“大声疾呼”,比如:
- 事情一度糟糕透了。民众要求她辞职的呼声越来越高。
Things were pretty grim for a time. The clamor for her resignation grew louder.
用作动词时, clamor 也是常作正式用语使用,相应既表示一群人乱哄哄且持续地“大声喊叫、大声呼叫”,也喻指“大声疾呼”,即人们大声喧嚷着提出强烈的要求、责难、抗议等,比如:
- 经历过战争的老战士们纷纷吵着要发言。
The war veterans all clamored to take the floor.
有意思的是,在长篇小说《飘》(Gone with the Wind)中,这个表达还被用来生动描述肚子饿得咕咕叫:
Some of her dullness was passing now and her stomach was clamoring for food.
她那迟钝的感觉已在逐渐消失,肚子开始闹着要吃东西了。
名著用例
They remember that they too trod down a sated generation, with just such clamor and with just such scorn, and they foresee that these brave torch-bearers will presently yield their place also.
他们记起了自己当初也曾经把一代高踞宝座的人践踏在脚下,也正是这样大喊大叫、傲慢不逊;他们预见到这些高举火把的勇士们有朝一日同样也要让位于他人。
出自威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆(William Somerset Maugham)的长篇小说《月亮和六便士》(The Moon and Sixpence)。
同近义词
- din: a loud, unpleasant, and prolonged noise
- racket: a loud unpleasant noise; a din
- uproar: a loud and impassioned noise or disturbance