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)
A: Yet another shopping mall has just opened in Taipei. B: Do you mean the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang? A: Yeah, the shopping mall run by Japanese Mitsui & Co. opened last week. B: I hear the mall features about 300 stores, Vieshow Cinemas and Japanese Lopia supermarket. A: With the opening, a war is breaking out between Taipei’s department stores. A: 台北又有新的購物商場可逛啦。 B: 你是說Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport 南港? A: 對啊這家日本三井集團旗下的商場上週開幕。 B: 聽說商場有威秀影城、樂比亞日系超市,還有多達300家專櫃。 A: 新商場一開幕,看來又要掀起一場百貨大戰啦! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: Hey, didn’t you go to the opening of the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Nangang last week? B: Yeah, there are about 300 shops, including the first overseas branch of Japan’s Mahou Dokoro — a famous Harry Potter-themed store. A: Wow, I’ve always wanted to get a magic wand. B: There are also a bunch of great restaurants, such as Smart Fish hotpot restaurant. A: I wish I had Harry Potter’s “apparition” and “disapparition” magic, so I could teleport to the mall right now. A: 你上週不是有去LaLaport南港的盛大開幕嗎?有什麼特別的? B: 那裡有多達300家專櫃,包括魔法之地的海外首店——它可是日本知名的《哈利波特》專賣店。 A: 哇我一直想買根魔杖。 B: 另外還有各式各樣的美食,像是林聰明沙鍋魚頭。 A: 真希望我也有哈利波特的「現影術/消影術」魔法,能瞬間移動到商場去! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
When it comes to movies, some people delight in watching spine-chilling horror films. Surprisingly, apart from containing a few scares, horror movies may also offer an unexpected __1__. According to a study, watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn an average of 113 calories, which is roughly __2__ to taking a 30-minute walk. Researchers from the University of Westminster carried out an experiment in which they __3__ participants’ oxygen intake, carbon dioxide output, and heart rates while they were watching horror movies without any distractions. The results revealed that physiological responses to fear play a crucial role
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看,這句話英語該怎麼說? 1. 你覺得這部電影怎樣? ˇ What do you think of the movie? χ How do you like the movie? χ How do you think of the movie? 註︰What do you think of = What is your opinion of。 think 的受詞是 what,不能用 how。 2. 你認為哪一個歌星唱得最好? ˇ Which singer do you think is the best? χ Do you think which singer is the best? 註︰英語中 which singer 似乎是 do you think 的受詞,實則 do you think 是插入語,其他例子如下: 你以為他喜歡誰? Who do you think he likes? 你以為我住在哪裏? Where do you think I live? 你想我昨天在公園裏碰到了誰? Whom/Who do you think I met in the park yesterday? 3. 他不論到什麼地方,總是帶著一把雨傘。 ˇ No matter where he goes, he