紅遍全球的韓國天團「防彈少年團」(BTS),從出道以來屢次創造國際級紀錄,更發揮自身影響力,傳遞正向力量。繼2018年在聯合國以「愛自己(Love Myself)」為題,成為世界第一個在聯合國演講的男團後,今年更受邀於白宮發聲,在亞裔美國人及夏威夷/太平洋島嶼原住民傳統月(AANHPI Heritage Month)的最後一天,針對反亞種族歧視,傳達出明確且強而有力的訊息。
Anti-Asian hate crimes
BTS演講由團長RM金南俊率先發話:
Photo: Bloomberg 照片:彭博社
And it is a great honor to be invited to the White House today to discuss the important issues of anti-Asian hate crimes, Asian inclusion and diversity.
(今天很榮幸受邀到白宮,討論反亞裔仇恨犯罪、亞裔包容性和多樣性等重要議題。)
Anti-Asian hate crimes反亞裔仇恨犯罪,此用法源自2021年,COVID-19大流行讓全球陷入恐慌,甚而掀起對亞裔族群的仇恨,對此美國各地陸續發起「停止仇恨亞裔(Stop Asian Hate)」運動,希望停止種族間的歧視與衝突。字首anti-代表抵抗(against)的意思,常見的搭配如antibody「抗體」、antivirus「防毒」、antipathy「反感」、antibiotic「抗生素」。
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about Anti-Asian hate crimes, which in the US spiked 339 percent last year.
(COVID-19疫情的爆發帶來了反亞裔仇恨犯罪,在美國光是去年就飆升了百分之三百三十九。)
inclusion and diversity
inclusion是動詞include詞類變化而來,在此表示「包容、不排斥任何群體」之意,也就是當代民主社會常用的「共融、包容」的意思。diversity為名詞,字首di-表示「離開、分開」,中間字根-vers的意思為「轉」(turn),合起來就有轉化、分離之意,因此diversity即表示「多樣性、多元性」。
Part of civic inclusion in the US even now still eschews citizens who are of Asian descent.
(即使是現在,部分美國公民的包容依然避開了亞裔公民。)
Biodiversity includes not only rare or endangered species, but also every living thing, from humans to organisms.
(生物多樣性不僅包括稀有或瀕危物種,還包括從人類到有機體的每一種生物。)
devastate、surge
接續RM後,Jimin朴智旻補充道:
We were devastated by the recent surge of hate crimes, including Asian American hate crimes. To put a stop on this and support the cause, we’d like to take this opportunity to express ourselves once again.
(最近仇恨犯罪激增,包括亞裔美國人的仇恨犯罪,對此我們感到震驚。為了制止這種情況,我們想藉此機會再次為自己發聲。)
本段有devastated與surge兩個字值得學習。devastate是動詞,表示「摧毀;毀滅」,形容詞devastated表示「身心交瘁的;極為震驚的」,另一形容詞devastating在諸多新聞報導裡也十分常見,表示「毀滅性的,破壞性極大的」。與calamitous、destructive、disastrous、overwhelming都是高頻率新聞用字。
Continuous hurricanes have caused devastating damage and significant loss of life to Caribbean island nations.
(持續的颶風造成加勒比海島國毀滅性的破壞和重大生命損失。)
surge可當動詞與名詞,表示「激增」或「湧起」。前陣子台灣疫情確診數激增或房價、油價飆漲時,就時常見到此單字,同義詞包含soar、skyrocket。
Housing prices across the country have surged over 20 percent in a span of two years, so economists have started worrying about a possible bubble.
(全國房價在兩年內飆升了百分之二十以上,因此一些經濟學家開始擔心可能出現的泡沫化。)
另一方面,要說明趨勢驟降或數字驟減,則可用plunge、plummet、crash、collapse、dive等字,在TOEIC測驗描述數據或現象趨勢時經常使用。
The celebrity’s reputation took a nose dive after his many love affairs came to light.
(在許多緋聞曝光後,這位名人的名聲一落千丈。)
transcend
接著團員田柾國Jung-kook說道:
We still feel surprised that music created by South Korean artists reaches so many people around the world. We believe music is always an amazing and wonderful unifier of all things.
(我們仍然感到驚訝的是,由韓國藝術家創作的音樂跨越語言和文化的障礙,傳播到世界各地這麼多人,我們相信音樂永遠是萬物奇妙的統一者。)
transcend barriers/limits/boundaries是常見的搭配詞,表示「超越障礙/極限/界限」。字首trans-是「跨越;超出」,衍生出眾多詞彙,多表示時間或空間的挪移,如transfer「移動,移轉」、transact「交易、買賣」、transform「使…變形;轉化」,由trans-縮減而成的tres-也有相似用法,如trespass「侵入」。
The artist far transcends the others in creativity and vision.
(這位藝術家在作品的創造力和視野上遠遠超越其他人。)
Consumers are encouraged to transact through digital channels to avoid infections.
(消費者被鼓勵使用數位途徑進行交易或消費以避免感染。)
The alleged criminal has been charged with trespassing in Harry and Meghan’s California home.
(這名被指控的罪犯因侵入哈利與梅根在加州的家而遭控告。)
三度登上聯合國總部演講之後,本次在白宮的演說,將BTS世界青年代表的正面形象再次推向顛峰,成為屢屢創造國際級紀錄的亞洲天團。
【多益模擬試題】
1. In current markets, many financial _____ or services can be carried out with a mobile device, directly reducing the need for cash.
(A) transits (B) transplants (C) transactions (D) transformations
2. Devastating and _____ floods hit Bangladesh, leaving at least 59 people dead and millions stranded.
(A) calamitous (B) constructive (C) diverse (D) inclusive
解析 :
1. 正解(C)。語意為「在當前市場上,很多金融交易或服務都可由行動裝置進行,直接減少現金的需求。」本題為字彙題,依照語意與關鍵字可選出答案(C)。其他選項意為(A)運送、(B)移植、(D)轉變;變形。
2. 正解(A)。語意為「毀滅性的洪水襲擊孟加拉,造成至少五十九人死亡,數百萬人受困。」本題為字彙題,依照連接詞and,應該選出與devastating語意相似的修飾詞,故選(A)。其他三個選項詞意為(B)有建設性的、(C)多樣性的、(D)包容的。
SOURCE: https://www.englishok.com.tw/toeic/toeic-issue/bts-inclusion-diversity
文章由 English OK 授權使用: www.englishok.com.tw
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