1. 认识这个词(基础篇)
词:shift
英英释义:a change in something, for example in someone's ideas or opinions
例句:There has been a marked shift in attitudes towards how to ask questions in the Phenomenal English community.
2. 体会这个词 (进阶篇)
前面我们学过“shift”作动词表示观点、态度、聚焦点等变化的用法,“shift”做名词也很常见,也可以表示同样的意思。了解它不同词性的用法,可以增强我们表达的多样性。
比如,之前的一个例句是:
最近几年大众对同性恋的态度已经有所改变了。Attitudes to homosexuality have shifted in recent years.
把这里的“shift'改成名词,就可以改写成:
Recent years have seen a shift in attitudes to homosexuality.
注意这个句子中“shift”后面搭配的介词是“in”。除了“a shift in attitude”外,常用的搭配还有:
a shift in public opinion/perspective;a shift in emphasis/mood/tone;a shift in direction/focus/policy/strategy
比如,经济低迷的时候人们的消费观就会变化,可以这么表达:
With the gloomy economy comes a shift in personal financial focus: people are more careful about spending and tend to spend primarily on truly necessary items.(这句话中使用了倒装句式,把 comes 提前了,正常语序应该是:A shift comes in personal financial focus with the gloomy economy。)
《经济学人》一篇关于谷歌商业模式的文章中,有几句话正好同时用到了“shift”作名词和动词的用法:
Alphabet has confronted worrisome transitions before, such as the shift from desktop PCs to mobile. Its ad business is still booming, because it devised a way to deliver ads on small screens. It is possible that Google’s ad model could in future shift to taking a fee for each transaction it facilitates.
这句话的意思是:“Alphabet 已经经历过一些令人担忧的过渡,比如从个人台式电脑到移动设备的转变。它的广告业务还很繁荣,因为它设计了一种方法,可以将广告投到很小的屏幕上。在未来谷歌的广告模式很可能转向对自己促成的每一笔交易都收费。”
大家在阅读中要有“温故而知新”的意识,注意一个词的不同词性,以及各自的使用特点。这样在自己写作的时候,就可以写出更灵活、地道的句子。
3. 从认识到会用(作业)
1)复习 “shift”(可点击单词直接跳转)作动词的用法。
2)使用《牛津英语搭配词典》查“shift”,了解它作名词的常用搭配。
3)翻译下面的句子:
中国经济正在经历从劳动密集型向智力密集型的转变。
China has been experiencing a shift from labor-intensive economy to intellectual-intensive economy.
(参考翻译:China is experiencing a shift from a labor-intensive economy to a knowledge-intensive economy. 或 The Chinese economy is undergoing a shift from brawn to brain.)
环境保护减少浪费
Most of us today are aware of the environmental challenges facing our planet. With the increasingly serious problems on climate change and energy shortages comes a shift in our attitudes toward environment protection: we understand more that cutting down on energy use and decreasing waste are necessary steps towards curbing climate change and preventing energy shortages.