最近兩部備受討論的電影《媽的多重宇宙》與《奇異博士2：失控多重宇宙》都以multiverse「多重宇宙」的概念為主軸。尤其由楊紫瓊主演的《媽的多重宇宙》更是受到極高評價，電影中主角Evelyn雙眉之間的玩具眼睛、熱狗手指都成為經典一幕。本次就讓我們從國外娛樂新聞網站Screen Rant對這部電影的介紹，來認識多益相關的重要字彙吧！
multiverse 多重宇宙
Everything Everywhere All at Once follows the story of Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner who is in the midst of getting audited by the IRS. When she discovers that she has the ability to access parallel universes, she must connect with her multiverse selves in order to save them all from destruction. (screenrant.com)
Photo courtesy of Disney 照片：迪士尼提供
（《媽的多重宇宙》的故事是關於一位洗衣店老闆Evelyn被國稅局稽查稅務期間，發現她有能力遊走平行宇宙，而她必須連結多重宇宙中的分身來拯救他們免於崩壞毀滅。）
multiverse 代表「多重宇宙」，字首「multi-」有many、much的意思，多益測驗中常見的單字有 multiple「多的，多種的」、multitask「多工」、multivitamin「綜合維他命」、multimedia「多媒體」。
According to a recent study, multitasking doesn’t lead to better work efficiency as we previously thought.
（根據最近的研究，同時做多項事務並不如我們原先認為的那樣提高工作效率。）
There are multiple solutions to the problem we are facing.
（我們面臨的問題其實有多種解決方案。）
名詞verse通常指稱「詩、歌詞或聖經中的一節」。
I can’t really sing the song since I only remember the first verse of the song.
（我真的無法唱這首歌，因為我只記得這首歌的第一節。）
字根「vers-」有 turning「轉」的意思，例如anniversary「周年」就是時間上又轉了一年， converse「對話」是兩方輪流講話，以及reverse「反轉」等。
Our company’s 25th anniversary celebration will be held next Saturday.
（我們公司的二十五周年慶將在下周六舉行。）
The damage caused by lead paint is irreversible.
（含鉛油漆所造成的危害是無法恢復的。）
然而verse在這兩部電影裡指的是universe「宇宙」，MCU漫威電影宇宙甚至用Spider-verse來描述不同宇宙的蜘蛛人，因此multiverse「多重宇宙」就是字首「multi-」加上verse而組成的單字。
IRS 國稅局
在《媽的多重宇宙》中，我們看到楊紫瓊所飾演的Evelyn 面對著桌上滿滿的收據，焦頭爛額的樣子，尤其是在面對IRS「國稅局」稅務員時焦慮的模樣更是讓觀眾感同身受。 IRS是Internal Revenue Service 的縮寫，internal (adj)「內部的」、revenue (n)「收入」和audit (v, n)「查帳，審計」都是多益測驗中高頻出現的字彙。
Most countries do not want to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.
（大多數國家都不想干涉別國內政。）
Our revenue has increased by 20% since we launched a new product last year.
（自去年推出新產品以來，我們的收入增長了百分之二十。）
Please let me know when the auditor is here.
（當稽核員來的時候，請告知我一聲。）
parallel universe 平行宇宙
在電影中，多重宇宙所包含的各個宇宙又被稱為parallel universe「平行宇宙」，parallel (adj, n)指的是「平行的」，在多益測驗中會以形容詞unparalleled「無比的」形式出現。
The skills and the work of Hong Kong tailors are unparalleled.
（香港裁縫師的技術和作品品質是無可比擬的。）
這部電影中讓我們對多元宇宙的概念有極大想像，如同Evelyn的女兒在電影中說到The universe is so much bigger than you realize.，而或許我們面臨的是個infinite multiverse「無限的多元宇宙」。
infinite (adj) 「無限的」相反詞是finite (adj)，日常中更常見的單字為definite (adj)「肯定的」。
The possibilities seem infinite.
（似乎有無限的可能。）
We were so impressed by the services you provided. We will definitely recommend you to other companies.
（您提供的服務給我們留下了深刻的印象。我們一定會向其他公司推薦您。）
【多益模擬試題】
1. Due to the recent surge of confirmed cases, the concerts ________ indefinitely.
(A) postpone
(B) are postponing
(C) have been postponed
(D) have postponed
2. These documents are for ________ use only, so it’s better to place them in the filing cabinet.
(A) inferior (B) interior
(C) integral (D) internal
【解析】
1. 正解(C)。語意為「因為最近確診案例暴增，演唱會將無限期延期」，由於concerts為主詞，演唱會被延期要選擇被動型態，故(C)為正確答案。
2. 正解(D)。語意為「這些文件僅供內部使用，所以最好放在檔案櫃裡。」本題為單字題，要選擇適合句意的單字。(A)自卑的，(B)內部的、國內的，(C)不可缺少的，(D)體內的、內部。故(D)為正確答案。
Source: https://www.englishok.com.tw/toeic/toeic-issue/multiverse-movie
文章由 English OK 授權使用: www.englishok.com.tw
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