cut-throat
【英英释义】
if you describe a situation as cut-throat, you mean that the people or companies involved all want success and do not care if they may harm each other in getting it. (disapproval)
a cut-throat activity or situation is one in which people behave in an unfair or immoral way in order to get an advantage over other people.
【词义深度解析】
cut-throat字面意思为“切喉”,常表示“冷酷无情”,“竞争激烈”。
表示“竞争激烈的”,可以替代的词有fierce, tough, severe。cut-throat强调竞争的残酷无情,为达目的不择手段,含有负面色彩。
【例句学习】
1. The competition in the smartphone industry is cut-throat.
2. The smartphone business is cut-throat and relentless.
3. Ride-hailing, like many online business, is a cut-throat, winner-takes-all market: Didi itself is the product of a 2015 merge of two local firms.
4. Once state support for AT&T's monopoly status was removed, the phone market became cut-throat.
5. Amazon's cut-throat pricing has lowered online inflation by about one percentage point.
relentless /rɪ'lɛntləs/ adj. 没完没了;不屈不挠;持续不懈的
ride-hailing hail本身有“招呼,叫出租车”的意思,ride-hailing在此处的意思可以根据例句后面出现的DiDi得知是“网约车”的意思。a cut-throat, winner-takes-all market,是一个竞争激烈,赢者通吃的市场。
【词汇运用】
1. 翻译:在这个竞争激烈的世界,只有适者才能生存。
In this cut-throat world, only the adaptive people can survive.(自己)
In this cut-throat world, only the fittest will survive/prevail. (参考翻译)
分析:本句关键是“适者”的选词。我看到“适者生存”时,我想它在英文中肯定有它惯有的表达,但是我没有接触过,所以按字面翻译成“有适应能力的人”,翻译完之后就去查了“物竞天择,适者生存”的英文表达:Natural selection and the survival of the fittest. 所以,参考翻译采用的“适者”更符合英文地道表达。can与will的区别暂时还没搞清楚,此处能否互相替代,暂时存疑。
prevail 流行,盛行;占上风;获胜;劝说。
2. 生活场景应用:
MBA application of the top business schools in the world is cut-throat. If you want to get one offer from them, you need to prepare a quite long time to strengthen your English considerably.
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