20190727 overwhelming

1. 这是个什么词？

词：overwhelming

英英释义：very large or greater, more important etc than any other

例句：The garbage/waste sorting proposal has been given overwhelming support.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“overwhelming”是形容词，有“难以抗拒的、令人不知所措的”的意思，也有“巨大的、压倒性的”的意思。我们今天来学第二个意思。这个表示程度的词在《经济学人》中出现的频率非常高，几乎每一期都能碰到，是个地道、高质量的好词，在口语和写作中都可以使用它。下面来看几个例子。

有大量证据表明吸烟有损健康，就可以说：

There is overwhelming evidence that smoking damages your health.

垃圾分类这一提议得到了极大的支持，可以说：

The garbage/waste sorting proposal has been given overwhelming support.

类似地，绝大多数的人投票赞成垃圾分类提议，就可以说：

An overwhelming majority have voted in favor of the garbage/waste sorting proposal.

《经济学人》在一篇关于全球气候变化的文章中都用到了 overwhelming：

Those who think global warming is not man-made are, inevitably, opposed to states setting long-range targets to decarbonise the economy. Even some who accept the overwhelming scientific consensus have their doubts.

另一篇写英国政治的《经济学人》文章中也出现了 overwhelming：

It looks as if the party is about to gamble again, on Boris Johnson. The former foreign secretary is the overwhelming favourite among party members, who elect the leader.（这里的意思是 Boris Johnson 的支持率远远超过其他人）

《经济学人》最近在一篇书评中也用到了 overwhelming：

Ms Cep paints a portrait of a hermetic society still riven by prejudice, with its revival tents and sharecroppers. Then she pieces together Lee’s struggle not only with Maxwell’s tale but with the legacy of her overwhelming success.（这里的 overwhelming 就相当于 great）

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）翻译下面的句子：

有大量证据表明刻意练习是掌握各种技能的必要条件。

There is overwhelming evidence that deliberate practice is essential to mastery of skills.

（参考翻译：There is overwhelming evidence that deliberate practice is essential to mastery of skills.)

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： 有大量证据表明跑步有助于减肥。

场景：There is overwhelming evidence that jogging helps to lose weight.