【现象级英语】每日一词11.27

hurdle n.

释义：a problem or difficulty that you must deal with before you can achieve something

“hurdle”是可数名词，本意是“栏架”，常被引申为“障碍”，常见、好用、形象。当我们想表达“克服XX障碍”“解决XX问题”时，除了使用 problem、difficulty、obstacle 外，还可以使用 hurdle。

例① 我们经常会说，生活就是解决一个又一个问题，不断往前走的过程。

Life is all about jumping over one hurdle after another and keeping moving on.（注意 and 连接的 jumping 和 keeping 的一致性。）

hurdle 前面经常搭配的动词除了上面的 jump over，还有 clear、overcome等。

例② 创业会面临一系列的挑战，例如融资、招人、持续增长等。 

To run a start-up, one needs to clear a series of hurdles, and securing enough funding is simply one of them.

通常还可以在 hurdle 前面加上一个形容词，来说明是哪方面的障碍。上面的句子也可以改写成：

例③ Every entrepreneur has to clear the financial hurdle to get their project started.（hurdle 前面用 financial 修饰，说明是资金方面的障碍。）

例④ 我们想说“滴滴在刚开始的时候需要搞定政府监管”，“政府监管”就可以说成是“regulatory hurdle”： 

When Didi, a Chinese cab-hailing app, first started, it had to overcome the regulatory hurdle.

【作业】

1. 使用《牛津英语搭配词典》查 “hurdle”，了解它作为名词时的常用搭配。

clear, jump (over) hurdle 跃过；跳过:

big, difficult  hurdle 大障碍；难关

main, major hurdle 主要障碍

final, first, last, next hurdle 最后的障碍；第一关；最后一关；下一关

face 面临障碍

clear, jump, overcome, pass 清除障碍；跨越障碍；渡过难关

2. 翻译：中国学生申请赴美留学面临的一大障碍是托福考试。 

Chinese students have to clear a big hurdle which is TOEFL, to be admitted to the US universities.

（参考翻译：A big hurdle that Chinese students who wish to study in the US face is TOEFL. 或 To get admitted to US colleges, Chinese students have to clear a difficult hurdle: TOEFL, an English language proficiency test.）

3.造句练习

场景:留守儿童在生活和教育上面临各种问题，如难沟通，学习成绩不理想等。

造句: Left-Behind children are facing series of hurdles in both life and education, poor academic record is simply one of them.