【现象级英语】每日一词10.30

trade-off  n.

释义：a balance between two opposing things, that you are willing to accept in order to achieve something.

例句：Deciding which modules to display in the Phenomenal English WeChat menu is a matter of trade-off.

『“trade-off”（也可以写成 'tradeoff“）是个可数名词, “权衡”“折中”，也可以根据语境翻译成“鱼与熊掌不可兼得”。它是来自动词短语 'trade off'，是个非常高频、好用的地道单词，可以在口语和写作中替换“balance”。 』

例① 生活中充满了各种折中，我们不可能什么都想要。

Life is full of trade-offs. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. （“You cannot have your cake and eat it too.”是口语中比较常见的英文谚语，表示“鱼与熊掌不可兼得”，可以和“trade-off”一起记忆。） 

『使用“trade-off”时，最常见的表达句式是“a trade-off between A and B”。』

例② 对很多制造商来说，他们必须在质和量之间有所权衡。

There must be a trade-off between quality and quantity for many manufacturers.   

例③ 最新一期《经济学人》中一篇关于英国脱欧的文章中有这么一句：   

But leaving the EU inevitably involves difficult trade-offs. （“difficult trade-offs”在这里指英国一旦脱欧，就不得不面对政治和经济的权衡。）

1 翻译: 这个决定是权衡效率和成本后的结果。   

This decision is the trade-off between efficiency and cost.

（参考翻译：The decision is a trade-off between efficiency and cost.）

2. 造句练习

场景: 很多职场女性，都会权衡工作和生活。

造句: There must be a trade-off between life and work for many employed women.