02.11【每日一词】pioneer

pioneer v. n.

释义：develop or be the first to use or apply (a new method, area of knowledge, or activity)

“pioneer”可以作名词也可以作动词，作名词有“先驱、开拓者”的意思，作动词意思是“开创、开辟、率先做某事”，pioneer 作为动词，可以取代 somebody was the first to do something。   

从 pioneer 的英文释义我们可以看出，它后面一般会接 a method, an area of knowledge, an activity, an approach, a practice 等。下面通过几个例句来了解它的用法。   

例① 支付宝最早开始使用并普及移动支付。

It is Alipay which pioneered and popularized mobile payment. (这里的"mobile payment“可以看作是“method”）   

这个句子中还可以加上我们之前学过的 norm 一词：

It is Alipay which pioneered and popularized mobile payment, now widely seen as a norm.   

例② 前不久美国西南航空公司的创始人 Herb Kelleher 去世，《经济学人》给他写了篇讣告，介绍他的时候说：   

Herb Kelleher, a pioneer of cheap air travel, died on January 3rd, aged 87.

这句话中的 pioneer 是名词，我们可以用 pioneer 的动词形式改写为：   

Herb Kelleher, who pioneered cheap air travel, died on January 3rd, aged 87. （这句话里面的“cheap air travel”可以看作是 an activity 或 a practice）   

在这篇文章里面还有一句话用到了 pioneer 作动词的用法：   

American aviation in the 1970s was dominated by the hub-and-spoke approach, pioneered by Delta Air Lines in the belief that the most efficient way to fill planes was to fly through hub cities and hoover up passengers.   

句子中对“the hub-and-spoke approach”这个普通读者可能不了解的做法作了解释：航空公司为了节约成本，提升满员率，可以让飞机先飞往大的机场，然后再让乘客转乘飞往小机场的航班。

翻译： 手冲咖啡（pourover coffee）的制作技艺是由一名日本咖啡师发明。   

It was a Japanese barista who pioneered the pourover coffee technique.

（参考翻译：The pourover coffee technique was pioneered by a Japanese barista.）