20190814 overblown

1. 这是个什么词？

词：overblown

英英释义：made to seem greater or more impressive than something really is

例句：The digital device is not as good as its spokesperson claims; the hype is overblown.

2. 为什么选这个词？

“overblown”是形容词，意思是“夸张的、过分渲染的、言过其实的”。不难看得出这是个贬义词，它后面一般修饰 fears, worries, claims, statements, promises 等词。我们在口语和写作中可以用 overblown 来替换 exaggerated。下面我们通过几个例子掌握它的用法。

人们对经济下滑的恐惧被夸大了，可以说：

Fears of an economic downturn look overblown.

这款电子产品完全没有代言人吹嘘的那么好，无非是过分营销罢了，可以说：

The digital device is not as good as its spokesperson claims; the hype is overblown.

他以为过分承诺能够赢得别人的信任，没想到到头来却给自己挖了坑，就可以说：

He figured that overblown promises could win trust from others, only to realize that he dug a hole for himself.

下面来看《经济学人》中的几个例子：

1）Whereas Mrs May had two years to retreat from her overblown commitments, Mr Johnson has just three months to eat his words.

2）With hindsight, the horror of deficits looks overblown.

3）Such worries could prove to be overblown.

4) That Japan is rapidly becoming less socially homogenous threatens its understanding of itself, too. The model of the salaryman who enjoys a job for life has broken down. Families, the building block of society, come in many more forms. Foreigners now live and work in Japan in record numbers. Such changes are exposing how overblown the claims of the homogeneity and togetherness of the Japanese were in the first place, reckons Akiko Hashimoto, a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh.

3. 怎样学会使用这个词？

1）翻译下面的句子： 有证据表明，人们对离婚率猛增的恐惧被夸大了。

Evidence suggests that fears of a spike/jump in divorces are overblown.

（参考翻译：Evidence suggests that fears of a spike/jump in divorces are overblown.)

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。

例子： 有证据表明，人们对失业率猛增的恐惧被夸大了。

场景：Evidence suggests that fears of a spike in unemployment are overblown.