一日一词:拉响警报的ALARMING

自现象级英语

ALARMING

1. 英英释义:making you feel worried or frightened 

例句:It is alarming that students spend so much time learning without actually learning something. 


2. 为什么选这个词? 


“alarming”是形容词,意思是“令人担忧的、使人惊慌的”;它的名词形式是 alarm,本意是“警报、闹钟”。alarming 经常出现在新闻报道中,用来形容某个问题的严重性。和它同义的表达一般还有 worrying 和 disturbing。在alarming, worrying, disturbing 后面加上ly 就变成了它们的副词形式,同样常见,我们可以一起掌握。 


一种令人担忧的现象是,现在很多孩子在学习上花了很多时间,但其实并没有真正学到什么东西,就可以说:It is alarming that students spend so much time learning without actually learning something.


在写稀有物种、自然资源在以令人担忧的速度消失时还可以使用“at an alarming rate/speed”这个表达。比如,中华鲟的数量越来越少,非常令人担忧,就可以说:The Chinese sturgeon is disappearing at an alarming rate.


类似地,亚马逊热带雨林消失的速度让人担忧,可以说:The Amazon rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate.


另外,alarming 的副词形式 alarmingly 也很常见。比如,在最新一期《经济学人》Leaders 板块中有一篇关于印度环境污染的文章,它的摘要中就出现了这个词:Even by the standards of poor countries, India is alarmingly--and unnecessarily--filthy. It needs to clean up.


《经济学人》另一篇写土耳其 #MeToo 运动的文章中有这么一句话:Domestic violence is alarmingly widespread in Turkey.


当我们想说某个现象很普遍,而这种普遍性令人担忧的时候就可以直接说 alarmingly widespread 了。 


个人拓展:

搭配:be/ seem/have an extremely/ particularly/ very /faintly/ slightly alarming increase/ rate/ report

It is alarming that/ to do

背诵:

同义词:alarming, worrying, disturbing, upsetting

Domestic violence is alarmingly widespreadin Turkey.

Even by the standards of poorcountries, India isalarmingly--and unnecessarily--filthy. It needsto clean up.

The 21stcentury brings somechallenges not seen before, most obviously and most worryingly climate change.自每周一段

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