It is perhaps unsurprising there are so many distinctions between British and American English when it comes to automobiles: they were invented long after American independence.
In the 1890s, before motor cars were in wide usage, horse-drawn wagons called “shooting-brakes” were used to transport shooting parties and their guns, ammunition and game from the hunt to the estate. In the 1900s, automotive models, with plenty of storage space in the back, were made for this purpose. The terms “shooting-brake” and “estate” were used interchangeably for these in England during the 1920s and 1930s, after which the former term largely disappeared.
In the US, cars with storage space in the back (initially, these were often specially converted Model T Fords) were used to carry people and their luggage to and from train stations. These became known as station wagons.
The distinction between estate car and station wagon still exists in British and American English, as does that between the words for a type of passenger car: in British English, a “saloon” — derived from the French salon, meaning “gathering” — and in American English a “sedan” — perhaps inspired by the “sedan chair” (a wheel-less compartment carried by two people and seating a single, usually wealthy, individual) — after the Speedwell Motor Car Co. of Dayton, Ohio, US, began manufacturing the Speedwell Sedan in 1911.
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
英式英文和美式英文的汽車用語有很多不同,或許不足為奇──畢竟美國脫離英國獨立後許久,汽車才被發明出來。
在汽車尚未普及的一八九○年代,稱做「shooting-brakes」(獵裝車)的馬拉貨車被用來將狩獵隊及其槍枝、彈藥和獵物,從狩獵區載運到莊園(estate)。一九○○年代所製造的車尾有大型置物空間的車款,即是為此目的而設計。「shooting-brake」和「estate」這兩個詞在一九二○、三○年代的英格蘭常交替使用,後來「shooting-brake」一詞則大致不用了。
在美國,車尾有置物空間的汽車(最初常是特別改裝的福特T型車)用於往返火車站,以載運乘客與行李。這樣的車稱為「station wagons」(旅行車)。
英式和美式英文中仍有「estate car」和「station wagon」之區別,一種載客汽車的名稱在英式和美式英文中也有所不同:轎車∕房車在英式英文中稱為「saloon」」──源自法文「salon」(沙龍)一字,意為「聚會」;美式英文則稱做「sedan」,沿用美國俄亥俄州岱頓市的Speedwell 汽車公司一九一一年開始生產的「Speedwell Sedan」車款名。該車型名稱之靈感來源或許是「sedan chair」(轎子)──由兩人扛著、可乘坐一個人(通常是有錢人)的無輪車廂。
(台北時報林俐凱譯)
Renhe sat stiffly at the Wei Ya banquet, picking at the symbolic dishes on the table. Fish for abundance, sticky rice cake for progress — it all seemed superstitious to him. The shrine to the Land God near the entrance, adorned with offerings, incense, and fruit, struck him as frivolous. “What does this have to do with running a business?” Renhe scrolled on his phone as his co-workers performed skits and poorly sung songs. He wasn’t even paying attention to the lucky draws when his name was called. The room filled with applause and cheers as he went to the stage
Stonefish may not be the most impressive-looking animal in the sea. In fact, this fish is so skilled at camouflage that most people wouldn’t notice it if they swam past it. Despite their unremarkable appearance, stonefish are the most venomous fish in the ocean. Stonefish come in various shades of brown, red, yellow, and orange. Their rough skin texture and blotchy color pattern give them a remarkable resemblance to stones, which is where their name comes from. This feature helps them blend in with their surroundings exceptionally well. Stonefish are notable for their 13 highly venomous spines which protrude
「雙手合十/合掌禮」(namaste) or 「碰肘/擊肘」 (elbow bump): 新冠肺炎流行逐漸改變現代社會的某些社交禮儀,歐美許多名人政要開始以「雙手合十/合掌禮」(namaste) 或「碰肘/擊肘」(elbow bump) 替代握手。 《今日商業》報導英國王儲查爾斯以「雙手合十」代替握手。 Coronavirus update: Prince Charles spotted greeting people with namaste (Business Today , March 12, 2020) 另外,《商業內幕》報導:疫情期間美國總統川普在白宮舉行新冠肺炎記者會,想和居家照護公司LHC集團執行副總葛林斯坦 (Bruce Greenstein) 握手,葛林斯坦婉拒,示意改用擊肘。 President Donald Trump attempted to shake hands with a home health care company executive . . . but the man turned the president down and offered him an elbow bump instead. (Eliza Relman, Business Insider , March 14, 2020) 「雙手合十/合掌禮」源自印度,也流行於泰、緬等國家。「碰肘/擊肘」則是 2006 禽流感、2009 豬流感後逐漸流行。疫情逐漸改變我們的生活方式,包括打招呼等社交禮儀,也出現了微妙的變化。 「拱手禮」(fist-and-palm salute) 至於華人社會傳統上也有雙手互握合於胸前「拱手禮」(fist-and-palm salute)。公益網站 Just Quarantine 提到: Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen demonstrating social distancing through use of a traditional Chinese greeting (fist & palm) instead of shaking hands in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 因應新冠肺炎疫情,2020 當年總統蔡英文與來訪賓客保持安全距離,拱手 (fist &
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Interestingly, stonefish don’t use their venomous spines to hunt. Instead, the spines serve as a defense mechanism. When hunting, stonefish catch their prey by hiding among rocks on the seafloor or in coral and remaining incredibly still until small fish or shrimp swim by. They then ambush their prey with lightning speed, swallowing their meal in a second. Despite their quick movements when capturing prey, stonefish are generally slow swimmers. They prefer to stay in shallow waters rather than swim in open areas. They can even survive outside of water for up to 24 hours. So,