1. 这是个什么词？
词：laggard
英英释义：a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others
例句：This cut-throat contest is not for losers and laggards.
2. 为什么选这个词？
“laggard”是可数名词，意思是“落后者”，从动词 lag（落后）衍生而来。这个词是《经济学人》的常客，可以指一个人、一家公司、一支球队、一个国家。来看几个例句。
这项比赛竞争激烈，不适合失败者和落后者，就可以说：
This cut-throat contest is not for losers and laggards.
中国男足一直落后，让很多国人觉得非常尴尬，我们就可以说：
The Chinese national football team has long been a laggard, an embarrassment to many Chinese.
来看看《经济学人》文章中用到的几处 laggard：
a) Britain’s economy has gone from a leader to a laggard internationally, as GDP growth has slowed sharply.
想表达“从领头羊变成了落后者”就可以直接用“go from a leader to a laggard”这一表达。
b) Indeed, half a millennium ago Europe might justly have been considered a laggard.
c) On its current path, the country will remain a growth laggard.
这句中，注意 growth 虽然是名词，但也可以用来修饰 laggard。这个用法在有的字典中查不到，不过在地道英文中还是可以看到的。我们在阅读中可以多注意积累类似的名词作修饰语的用法。
3. 怎样学会使用这个词？
1）翻译下面的句子：
这个国家的经济一度落后，不过现在已经开始迎头赶上了。
Once a laggard, the economy of this country is starting to catch up.
Long a laggard, this country's economy is beginning to pick up.
（参考翻译：Once a laggard, the economy of this country is starting to catch up. 或 Long a laggard, this country's economy is beginning to pick up.）
2）结合自己的生活、学习、工作、兴趣等，想象在什么语境下会用到这个表达。先简要描述这个场景，再造句。
例子： 商业
场景 ： China’s communicational industry has gone from a laggard to a leader globally now, which becomes a worry for its competitors. In today’s hyperconnected world a threatened ban by Western governments of Huawei makes both Ericsson, a Swedish company, and Nokia, a Finnish one, would prefer the geopolitical saga to end, the better to focus on competing for contracts related to the launch of super-speedy fifth generation 5G mobile-phone networks.
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