英语听力精选进阶版 7168

Background: 国际潮流和重大事态直接影响语言的发展，比如在国内度假 (staycation) 和呜呜祖拉 vuvuzela 就是其中的两个例子。最新版的牛津英语字典中就增加了2000个时髦词语。

The new words which have been added to the Oxford¹ Dictionary of English all reflect global trends and events.

From the World Cup, in South Africa, who could forget the piercing monotone of the 'vuvuzela'.

Due to the credit crunch², people are forced to take holidays at home, so instead of a vacation in which you vacate the country, you stay, hence 'staycation'.

A close but non-sexual relationship between two men is a 'bromance' - a portmanteau word, from 'brother' and 'romance'. An example of this sort of relationship could be that between the leaders of Britain's coalition³ government, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Oh, they could also be 'frenemies' - friends who are also rivals.

Sara Hawker is one of the editors of the Oxford Dictionary of English. She says a lot of work goes into deciding which words should be added.

"The words we include in our dictionary are all based on evidence.We have enormous databases of current English which we analyse and we only put words into the dictionary if we've got significant evidence that they are being used by different people in different contexts, so we never put anything in unless there is a lot of evidence of it being used."

Other words which are now also included are 'chillax', an amalgamation⁴ of chill and relax, so calm down. And 'buzzkill', something or someone with a dispiriting effect. Basically, they or it, kill your buzz.

But of course Twitter and Facebook have brought about 'social media', and with it 'tweet up', a meeting organised via Twitter. If the coalition between David Cameron and Nick Clegg broke down, they might go into their Facebook accounts and 'defriend' each other.

Glossary⁵ 词汇表

piercing monotone 刺耳的单音 

credit crunch 信贷危机 

bromance 兄弟情 

a portmanteau word 合成词 

amalgamation 合并 

frenemies 友敌 

significant evidence 重大证据 

chillax 放松冷静 

buzzkill 扫兴的, 泼冷水的 

dispiriting 感到扫兴的 

defriend 从好友名单上除名

Questions and Answers

1. Most of the new words come from global events and trends. True or False? 

True. They reflect global trends and events.

2. What is the basis of selecting new words for the Oxford dictionary? 

There has to be significant evidence that certain words are being used by different people in different contexts.

3. Do David Cameron and Nick Clegg work together? 

Yes, they do, as the British Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.

4. Does the word 'buzzkill' have a positive ring to it? 

No, it is associated with disappointment.

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 amalgamation   

n.合并，重组；；汞齐化

参考例句：

• We look towards the amalgamation of some of the neighborhood factories.我们指望合并一些里弄工厂。
• The proposed amalgamation of the two institutes has mow fallen through.这两个研究所打算合并的事现在已经落空了。

5 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。