密歇根新闻广播 注意“take care of”的含义

注意“take care of”的含义

Auto-antonyms are words that can hold two, generally opposite, meanings at the same time. Once you know what they are, you’ll start to see them everywhere.

“Dust” is a good example. You can remove dust, like dusting a shelf, or you can add dust, like dusting a cake with powdered sugar.

It's possible for phrases to work this way too.

"Take care of" can mean to protect or look after someone or something, like a baby or a lawn. Consider this usage though: "An antibiotic¹ should take care of that infection." Since you generally don’t want to protect or look after an infection, in this instance "take care of" means to get rid of or dispose of something.

So how did we get here? Let's start with the history of "care."

"Care" is Germanic. In Old English, it could refer to sorrow or mental anguish², as well as fear, doubt, or concern. You can still hear "care" used this way in phrases like "set your cares aside." In other words, don’t worry about anything.

In early meanings, "care" could also mean serious attention. We use that meaning when we say things like "I read the document with great care."

By the 16th century, "care" comes to refer to oversight³ with the purpose of protection or preservation⁴. For example, you might leave your kids in someone else’s care while you’re at work. This is the version of "care" we see in "take care of."

The phrase "take care of" shows in up in the 1500s. In addition to look after, "take care of" also meant to deal with or dispose of something, like a problem. That may sound ominous⁵, but taking care of something doesn’t have to end with someone sleeping with the fishes.

For example, your partner might offer to take care of the dishes tonight. That’s when you either pass out from shock or thank them and run out of the room before they change their mind.

1 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

2 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

3 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

4 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

5 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。