VOA慢速英語：牛津辭典2018年年度詞匯是“有毒的”

Oxford’s Word of the Year Is…Toxic

牛津辭典2018年年度詞匯是“有毒的”

The Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year is...toxic.

牛津詞典的年度詞匯是“toxic。”

The British publisher defines the adjective toxic as "poisonous." The word first appeared in English in the 1650s. It came from the Latin word toxicus, meaning "poisoned."

這家英國出版社將這個形容詞定義為“有毒的。”這個詞于17世紀50年代首次出現在英語中，它來自于拉丁語單詞toxcus，意思是中毒。

The Latin word itself actually came from the Greek term toxon, meaning "bow." In ancient Greece, fighters with bows would put poison on the points of their arrows.

這個拉丁單詞實際上來自于希臘語toxon，意思是弓箭。在古希臘，弓箭手會將毒藥涂在箭頭上。

Why was toxic chosen?

為何選擇toxic?

Oxford chooses a Word of the Year that best describes the mood of the past year. The word also should "have lasting potential" as a term of cultural importance.

牛津選擇最能描述過去一年氛圍的單詞作為年度詞匯。這個單詞也應該具備作為文化重心術語的持久潛力。

Oxford said its data showed a 45 percent rise in searches for the word toxic on its website in 2018.

牛津詞典稱其數據顯示，2018年其網站上toxic這個單詞的搜索量上升了45%。

The searches began with the toxic chemical poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain. Then, in Syria, a toxic chemical weapon attack killed at least 40 people and led to a missile strike from the United States.

這些搜索始于身在英國的俄羅斯前間諜謝爾蓋·斯基里帕爾及其女兒的有毒化學物中毒。然后，敘利亞的一次有毒化學武器襲擊造成至少40人死亡，并引發(fā)美國發(fā)動導彈襲擊(進行報復)。

The public also was concerned about toxic gas after a series of hurricanes and other storms. Others worried about the burning of toxic waste in India and toxic air pollution around the world. In the American state of Florida, huge numbers of dead fish washed up on the beaches because of toxic algae.

在一系列颶風和其它風暴之后，公眾還擔心有毒氣體。其他人擔心印度燃燒有毒廢料和全球的有害空氣污染。在美國佛羅里達州，由于有毒藻類，大量死魚被沖上海灘。

But the increasingly common phrase "toxic environment" has nothing to do with pollution. Oxford says people searched for this phrase in connection to unpleasant workplace environments, including the worldwide walkout of Google employees. They were protesting sexual wrongdoing, unequal pay and discrimination.

但是越來越常見的”有害環(huán)境“一詞與污染無關。牛津詞典表示，人們搜索這句話是關于不愉快的工作環(huán)境，包括谷歌員工的全球罷工。他們抗議性騷擾、不公平薪酬和歧視。

Others wanted to know about toxic relationships, especially connected to the #MeToo movement against sex abuse and the confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

其他人想了解有害人際關系，尤其是反性侵的Metoo運動，以及布雷特·卡瓦諾作為美國最高法院大法官的提名確認聽證會。

And the runners-up are...

排名第二的是...

The word gaslighting was another top word of 2018, Oxford says. It defines the word as "the action of manipulating someone by psychological means into accepting a false depiction of reality or doubting their own sanity."

Gaslighting是另一個2018年熱門詞匯。牛津詞典將這個單詞解釋為“通過心理手段讓別人接受錯誤信息或懷疑自己失去理智，從而操縱別人的行為。”

It says the word has been used to describe claims by the administration of President Donald Trump that "the media are spreading ‘fake news.'" Gaslighting is also used to describe the British government position on Brexit – Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.

牛津詞典稱，這個詞一直被用于敘述川普政府宣稱的“媒體傳播假新聞”。Gaslighting也被用于敘述英國政府的脫歐立場。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·林恩報道。