作者：Alice的学习笔记
原文
There are countless harbours around the world but only a handful can truly boast to be a cut above the rest. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but most travel writers agree on a top ten list of the most breathtaking harbours. I am lucky to have seen some of those on the list. The word "handful" means a small number or the numbers you can count on one hand, which is five because a hand has five fingers. The expression "a cut above" means something or someone that is better than others.The expression "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is used to point out not everyone has the same opinion about who or what is beautiful.
Some people may consider a painting or a person to be beautiful or a cut above the rest but others may disagree. If something is "breathtaking" it means it is very beautiful or impressive. Many travel writers list New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Venice, Rio de Janeiro, and Vancouver as among the most breathtaking harbours. Different experts list these harbours in different orders. Some say New York has the most breathtaking harbour. Others prefer Sydney. My research showed Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour is on every list. I have seen the harbours in New York, Sydney, Venice,Vancouver, and, of course, Hong Kong. I hope to one day see the harbour in Riode Janeiro.
Numerous places have a good view of Victoria Harbour. My favourite place is Le 188° on the 41st floor of the Harbour Grand Hotel in Fortress Hill. The view of the harbour at Le 188° is out of this world. The expression "out of this world" means extraordinary or extremely good. It has a fantastic view of the harbour from west to east. Le188° also has a rooftop to take great pictures. I have been there several times and was there again last week. I drank martinis, watched the sunset, and had dinner. A very enjoyable evening.
单词、短语
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handful
作名词可以表示一把，也可以表示几个人（物），少数人（物）。
There were only a handful of people there.
那里只有几个人。
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boast
作动词表示夸口，吹嘘，也可以表示自豪地拥有（好的事物或特征）。
Amy boasted that her son was a genius.
埃米夸耀自己的儿子是天才。
The city boasts two excellent museums.
这个城市以拥有两家出色的博物馆而自豪。
拓展：
boast也可以作名词，表示大话，瞎吹，或者引以为豪的事物。
'Making knowledge work' is the university's phrase, and it is no idle boast (=not a boast, but true).
“学以致用”是这所大学的校训，这确实不是一句空话。
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a cut above sth
优于…，比…高出一筹，英文解释为：to be much better than someone else or something else。
The movie is a cut above recent thrillers.
这部影片比最近拍的惊险片要好得多。
He proved himself to be a cut above the rest .
他证明了自己比别人要优秀得多。 -
breathtaking
激动人心的；惊人的；令人惊叹的。
The view from my bedroom window was absolutely breathtaking.
从我卧室的窗户看出去，景色美得令人叹为观止。
（图片来自《中国国家地理》2021年第05期主打文章：干旱区的浪漫；盐湖捧出玫瑰色）
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beauty is in the eye of the beholder
情人眼里出西施；对美的判别因人而异。
beholder，表示个人观点；个人看法，英文解释为：If you say that something such as beauty or art is in the eye of the beholder, you mean that it is a matter of personal opinion.
拓展：
有一个很有意思的短语，beauty is only skin-deep，意思是“美貌只是一张皮，内在美比外在美更重”。
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out of this world
好得不得了，英文解释为：extremely good, enjoyable etc。
The graphics and sounds are out of this world.
图像和声音都很完美。
翻译
世界各地有无数的海港，但真正能夸口比其他海港更胜一筹的（a cut above），实在寥寥可数（handful）。当然「情人眼里出西施」（beauty is in the eye of the beholder），但大部份旅游作家也会认同是哪十大海港最美，美得令人屏息（breathtaking）。我有幸见过首十位的其中几个。Handful是指很小量，又或一只手也数得完，即五以内的数量，因为一只手只有五只手指。习语 "a cut above" 是指某事物或人略优于其他的。习语 "beauty is in the eye of thebeholder"，是指人人的审美标准不尽相同，美与不美，言人人殊。
有些人会认为一幅画或一个人很美，或比其他略胜一筹（a cut above），但其他人或会不认同。若某物是breathtaking意即它美得很惊艳或壮观。许多旅游作家会推举纽约、悉尼、香港、威尼斯、里约热内卢和温哥华为其中几个美得最令人屏息（breathtaking）的海港。不同专家会给这些海港不同的排名，有些会说纽约拥有最壮观（breathtaking）的海港，另一些人则选悉尼。我翻查资料发现，香港的维多利亚港总是榜上有名。我也见识过纽约、悉尼、威尼斯、温哥华的海港，当然还有香港的。我希望终有一天我可以去看看里约热内卢的海港。
有许多地点都可以好好观赏维多利亚港，我最喜欢的地方是炮台山港岛海逸君绰酒店四十一楼的Le 188°餐厅及酒廊。Le 188°的海港景观是 out of this world。习语 "out of this world" 的意思是无与伦比，宛如仙境的。它坐拥维港由西至东的壮丽景观。Le 188°也拥有天台，在那里可拍到最美的照片。我曾经去过几次，上星期又再度到访。我喝了马丁尼，观赏日落，品尝晚餐，过了一个非常惬意的晚上。
原文作者：Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
中文翻译：七刻
以上就是今天的内容。
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