20190804 reliant

1. 这是个什么词？

词：reliant

英英释义：dependent on someone or something

例句：Despite constant conflicts between China and the US, the two countries are heavily reliant on each other.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“reliant”是形容词，意思是“依赖的”。从它的英文释义也可以看出它和 dependent 是同义词，是个非常高频的简单、好用的小词，几乎每期《经济学人》中都可以碰到。 reliant 的用法非常简单，前面经常搭配 heavily 和 overly 这两个副词，后面接 on 或 upon。下面我们通过几个例子掌握它的用法。

虽然中美之间经常有矛盾，但两国其实非常依赖彼此，我们就可以说：

Despite constant conflicts between China and the US, the two countries are heavily reliant on each other.

一些地区经济过分依赖某一种资源，我们就可以用 reliant。比如山西依赖煤炭，中东依赖石油：

Because Shanxi is overly reliant upon its coal resources, its economy suffers when demand declines drastically. The Middle East is famously reliant on its oil, but in the past couple of decades, it has tried to diversify its economy.

下面来看《经济学人》中的几个例子：

1）In 2018 two-thirds of small and medium-sized [British] building firms said they could not find enough bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, in part because they had become overly reliant on importing plumbers from Poland and carpenters from Hungary.

2）Proposition 13, which caps the rate at which property taxes can rise, is why the state is so heavily reliant on personal-income tax.

3）Meanwhile, unlike the former coal-mining areas, which were hopelessly reliant on a single industry, Redcar has long had a more diversified economy, making it easier for ex-steelers to find work than it was for jobless miners a generation ago. (注意 reliant 前面的 hopelessly 这个副词表示的程度和情绪)

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）翻译下面的句子： 拼多多主要依赖中小城市的用户。

Pinduoduo, a Chinese e-commerce startup, is heavily reliant on users in small and medium-sized cities.

（参考翻译：Pinduoduo, a Chinese e-commerce startup, is heavily reliant on users in small and medium-sized cities.)

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。

非洲大部分地区主要依赖中国的援助。

Most parts of Africa are heavily reliant on Chinese aid.