For the last article in this American & British English series, we turn to a vocabulary set that evolved after America achieved independence from the UK, and as such has many differences: motor vehicle parts.
In American English, the fender frames the wheel well, preventing mud or rocks being thrown up by the rapidly turning tire. It is the source of the term “fender bender,” meaning a minor accident. In British English, the fender is called the “wing.”
In the UK, before cars were invented, one main form of transport was the horse-drawn carriage. The driver would store his boots in the “boot locker,” and over time this phrase would be shortened to the “boot.” In the US in the past, the main storage space was a trunk attached to the back of the car. Over time, storage space was integrated into the back of the car, and became known as the trunk. In British English, this space is called the “boot.”
The metal part covering the engine is named after soft coverings for the head: “hood” in American English, from the Old English word hod, related to the Dutch hoed (hat), and “bonnet” in British English, from the Old French word bonet (cloth used as a headdress).
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
在「美式英文與英式英文」的最後一個單元,我們要介紹一組詞彙:汽車零件。這些詞彙是在美國脫離英國獨立後演變而來的,因此有許多差異。
在美式英文中,「fender」(擋泥板)包住了輪艙(wheel well),防止快速旋轉的輪胎讓泥沙或石子飛濺出來。它是「fender bender」一詞的來源,表示擦撞、小車禍事故。英式英文則稱擋泥板為「wing」。
在英國,汽車尚未發明時的主要運輸工具是馬車。駕車的人將其靴子放在靴子櫃(boot locker)中,久而久之,該片語縮短為「boot」。過去美國的汽車,其主要置物空間是裝在車子後面的大行李箱(trunk)。後來,置物空間被整合到汽車的後部,並稱為「trunk」(後車箱)。英式英文則稱後車箱為「boot」。
金屬製的引擎蓋,其美式英文名稱卻是來自柔軟的衣物──風帽(hood),源於古英語字「hod」,與荷蘭文「hoed」(帽子)有關。引擎蓋在英式英文中稱為「bonnet」,源自古法語字「bonet」(用作頭巾的布)。
(台北時報林俐凱譯)
A: Also, police seized seven pornographic videos featuring minors that entertainer Mickey Huang purchased in his hard disc. B: That’s just outrageous! A: His ex-girlfriend entertainer Little S and some others are calling for a legal amendment to increase the penalty. B: The buyers and sellers should both be punished heavily. A: But the porn sellers’ Web sites are mostly overseas, so they are hard to catch. A: 此外警方也在黃子佼的硬碟裡,查到7部他買的未成年色情片。 B: 真是令人火大! A: 他的前女友小S等人,還呼籲修法,加重相關的罰則。 B: 購買者和販賣者雙方都該重罰。 A: 不過色情網站大多設在海外要抓也不容易吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Jumping rope has long been considered an excellent form of exercise. It not only burns calories but also improves cardiovascular health and __1__ core muscles. Anyone who has used a traditional jump rope, though, knows that it requires a certain level of skill and coordination. However, with the development of the cordless jump rope, this is __2__ the case. The cordless jump rope is an innovation in the fitness industry that has gained popularity in recent years. As its name suggests, it doesn’t have a cord connecting the two handles. Instead, each handle features a short cord with a
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once