每日一词 92 | sidetrack

1. 这是个什么词？

词：sidetrack

英英释义：to direct (someone) away from an activity or subject toward another one that is often less important

例句： Sorry I got completely sidetracked and didn't attend to your request immediately.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“sidetrack”是动词，意思是“受到了......的干扰”。从它的英文释义来看，这种干扰一般主要会影响到迫切或重要的事情，在口语和写作中都可以使用这个词。

我们经常突然被某事打扰而忘记做某事或分神，这时候就可以说 “I got sidetracked”。我们来看两个具体的例子：

I am terribly sorry I didn't send you the file right away. I got sidetracked and forgot it.

Sorry I got completely sidetracked and didn't attend to your request immediately.

我们一般说的“讲跑题了”也可以用 sidetrack 来表达：

Sorry I got sidetracked and talked about my lousy experience at the bar. Where was I?

这里的意思是：我刚才跑题了，本来不该讲在酒吧的经历，应该接着前面的话题讲。在这句话里“Where was I?”的意思就是“我刚才讲到哪儿来着？” （原来跑题回神时可以这么表达啊）

再比如，一些主播在做直播的时候，有时候为了照顾听众的问题，讲着讲着就跑题了，就可以说：

Live streaming hosts are prone to be sidetracked by questions from the audience. （be prone to be...）

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）翻译下面的句子：

约翰本来想找一个信封，但没想到读起了一些旧时的信件。

John originally wanted to find an envelope, but got sidetrcaked reading some old letters.

（参考翻译：John was looking for an envelope and got sidetracked reading some old letters.）

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。

I was learning English and got sidetracked surfing the web.