20190407 mantra

1. 这是什么词？

词：mantra

英英释义：a word or phrase which is often repeated and which sometimes expresses a belief

例句：“Move fast and break things” has become a popular startup mantra.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“mantra”是个可数名词，原意是佛教和印度教中的“祷文”“符咒”，现在常用来表示“口头禅” “口号”。在口语和写作中，当我们想引用一句名言或者介绍一种现象时就可以用到它。

比如 Facebook 的首席执行官 Mark Zuckerberg 曾说过，“Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” 这句话已经成为了创业者会时刻挂在嘴边上的格言，我们就可以说：

“Move fast and break things” has become a popular startup mantra.

Justin 在介绍中国的“人情”文化时就用到了 mantra：

“Pay off renqing (人情, or personal feelings) before you clear debt” is a widely known cultural mantra in China.

mantra 也是《经济学人》中的常客。比如写到为跨性别者特设监狱时用到：

The mantra of some activists that “trans women are women” implies they should be treated no differently from inmates who were born female. “Give, get or get off” is the unofficial mantra of most American museum boards.（这里的“Give, get or get off”可以理解为“自己给钱、劝别人给钱、或者离开”）

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）翻译下面的句子：

“只有偏执狂才能生存”是硅谷最著名的口号之一。

“Only the paranoid survive” is one of the most well-known mantras in Silicon Valley.

（参考翻译：“Only the paranoid survive” is one of the most well-known mantras in Silicon Valley. 或者 One of Silicon Valley's most striking mantras goes,“Only the paranoid survive”.）

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： “让天下没有难做的生意”是阿里巴巴最著名的口号之一。

场景 ： “ To make doing business easy” is one of the most well-known mantras in Alibaba.