每日一词 74: Occasional

1. 这是个什么词?

词:occasional

英英释义:happening sometimes but not often or regularly

例句:Although I am well traveled, I have mostly visited different parts of my own country and have made only occasional overseas trips.

2. 为什么选这个词?

名词“occasion”有很多个意思,比如“场合” “时机” “特别时刻”等。它的形容词“occasional”意思比较单一,是“偶尔的”,常用、好用,值得掌握。它的副词“occasionally”(“偶尔地”)也可以顺便收入囊中。当我们想表达某个现象偶然才出现或某个事件偶然才发生时,除了使用 sometimes, from time to time, every now and then 之外,还可以使用 “occasional”和“occasionally”,尤其是在书面表达中。

我们来看几个例子。 华裔美国德州扑克高手 Johnny Chan 胜率极高,偶尔才会输给对手,就可以说:

Johnny Chan is a formidable poker player and only loses very occasionally.

再比如,我去过不少地方,但很多都是国内的各个省份,时不时才去国外旅行一次,就可以说:

Although I am well traveled, I have mostly visited different parts of my own country. I have traveled abroad only occasionally.

Although I am well traveled, I have mostly visited different parts of my own country and have made only occasional overseas trips.

《经济学人》在一篇写纽约的 Christmas special 文章中有这么一句:

An occasional plane passes overhead, perhaps to La Guardia, perhaps to JFK.(La Guardia 和 JFK 是纽约市的两大机场。)

《经济学人》有一篇讣告写的是一个暴徒,里面有这么一句:

He occasionally regretted the shame he had brought on his family, but for his victims and their relatives he felt nothing.

3. 怎样学会使用这个词?

1)翻译下面的句子:

露西擅长山水画,偶尔也画画油画。

Lucy is good at landscape painting, and occasionally she does oil painting.

(参考翻译:Lucy is especially good at traditional Chinese landscape painting, but occasionally she does oils too. 或 Though an expert on traditional Chinese landscape painting, Lucy does occasional oil painting too. )

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1:My skin is sensitive, and as well as seasonal reasons, some skincare products can  cause occasional allergic reactions on my face.

场景1 :我的皮肤是敏感类型的,而且也由于季节因素,有时一些护肤品会导致我的脸出现过敏反应。

例子2:She occasionally went back home to visit her parents when she got married.

场景2: 她结婚后,偶尔回家看望父母。

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