每日一词59

1. 这是什么词？

词：ground

英英释义：a reason for what you say or do, or for being allowed to say or do something

例句：Gene editing has drawn widespread public criticism on ethical grounds.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“ground”作名词有很多意思，除了最常见的“地面”外，它也常被用于表示“理由”“根据”。掌握了 ground 的这个用法，我们就可以在很多场景下，用它替换 reason，because 等，让表达具有多样性。

ground 表示“理由”时，一定要注意：它一般都会以复数形式 grounds 出现。

我们常说的“实锤”（即“确凿的证据”）就可以用到 ground。比如一位女性指控他人性骚扰，如果有确凿的证据的话，我们就可以说：

She has valid grounds for accusing him of sexual harassment.

“基因编辑婴儿”曝光后引来了许多争议，许多人从伦理层面批评这个项目。我们可以用英文说成：

Gene editing has drawn widespread public criticism on ethical grounds.

ground 常和介词 on 搭配构成短语 on the grounds of/that， 表示“因为…的理由”“以…为根据”。我们在论证说理时就可以用到它，如果你准备考雅思和托福，一定要掌握它。

《经济学人》在介绍西湖大学时，提到现任校长施一公的教学理念时就用到了 on the grounds that：

Mr Shi believes that if elite universities select students on the grounds not just of their test scores, but also of their intellectual maturity and social responsibility, this will influence the way pupils are taught at school, and change the way they think.

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）使用《牛津英语搭配词典》查“ground”，了解它作为名词表示“理由”时的常用搭配。

2）翻译下面的句子：

因为英语不够好，他拒绝了邀请。

He refused the invitation on the grounds of his poor English.

造句:

场景:在经济学家眼中，由于月饼能够作为礼物，所以把它看成是重要趋势的指标。

For economists, mooncakes are an indicator of important trends on the grounds of their status as gifts.

（参考翻译：He turned down the invitation on the grounds that his English was not good enough. 或者 On the grounds of inadequate English, he declined the invitation. ）