Will, Author at Will的美语课

Clothing, clothes, clothe, cloth, cloths单词意思及用法辨析

March 15, 2017August 23, 2015 by Will

Clothing, clothes, clothe, cloth, cloths，这五个英语单词，由于外形接近，含义也比较近似，如何正确区分及使用这5个单词相信会令不少人抓狂。今天Will的美语课就为大家深度解析一下这五个单词的区别，帮你更好地学习英语单词。

Clothing vs. Clothes

Clothing和clothes都是指衣服，在很多时候可以互换（interchangeable）。但是在使用上，clothing更加泛指，你可以把它翻译为中文里的“服饰”、“衣物”、“衣着”。而clothes则通常指某个人具体穿的衣服，或特指某件衣服。注意：clothing是不可数名词（uncountable noun），而clothes只有复数形式（plural form only）。比较这几个句子的区别：

what are some websites where you can buy like sporty clothing online?
I need all the clothing stores you can think of that have cute, but not too expensive teen clothing.
I want to improve my clothing style.
When shopping for a few clothes, say at the mall, how much do you spend?
Please put some clothes On!

Clothe vs clothes

这两个单词的外形实在是太接近了，稍不留神，很可能会误认为clothe是衣服，而clothes是衣服的复数形式呢。其实，clothes本身就是复数形式（plural form），clothes没有单数形式（it has no singular form）。

Clothe其实是个动词！！！意思是：穿上衣服。例句：she was clothed all in white. The children were clothed in warm fleece. 还有一种比较形象的说法：为。。。穿上外衣。如：”People clothe the act of vengeance in all sorts of justifications” (James Carroll).

Cloth vs cloths

Cloth的意思是布，布匹。a fabric formed by weaving, felting, etc., from wool, hair, silk, flax, cotton, or other fiber, used for garments, upholstery, and many other items. 通常用于制衣、或装潢，以及其他用品。而cloths，是cloth的复数形式，注意：并非clothes哦。

Down payment是什么意思？

March 2, 2019August 22, 2015 by Will

Down payment（也称为downpayment），中文意思是“首付款”。Wikipedia对down payment的英文解释如下：

Down payment (or downpayment) is a payment used in the context of the purchase of expensive items such as a car and a house, whereby the payment is the initial upfront portion of the total amount due and it is usually given in cash at the time of finalizing the transaction. A loan or the amount in cash is then required to make the full payment.
Downpayment是在购买昂贵物品（如：车、房）时的一种付款，该款项是总应付款的最初直接支付部分，且常采用现金支付。之后，可通过贷款、或现金方式完成剩余全部款项的支付。

Investopedia进一步指出：The payment typically represents only a percentage of the full purchase price; in some cases it is not refundable if the deal falls through. 首付款通常以总价款的百分比形式计算。某些情形下，若交易未能达成，该款项不予退还。

For example, because houses are extremely expensive assets, home buyers typically pay down payments that equal 5-25% of the total value of a home. The remaining 75-95% of the price will be covered by a bank or other financial institutions through a mortgage loan.
在美国，购房者通常需支付房屋总价的5-25%（Bankrate.com甚至指出，首付百分比最低可达到3-3.5%），剩余的75-95%则通过银行或其他金融机构以住房抵押贷款（或称按揭贷款：mortgage loan）的方式偿还。

支付首付款的英语说法是：make down payment，或者put down…on…。美国人在口语中常常把down payment简化为put down，你可能会听到这样的交谈：“Alex put 20 percent down on the house.”意思等同于：“Alex made a 20 percent down payment.”（Alex交了20%的首付。）也可以说：I would try to put down at least $7,500 if possible. （可能的话，我愿意交7500美元的首付。）

如何用地道英语表达“抛售股票”？

December 24, 2017August 22, 2015 by Will

全球股市连遭重挫，你的投资组合还好吗？无论如何，生活还要继续。深吸一口气，给自己一个微笑。让我们暂时忘却股指带来的伤痛，学习如何用1个英文单词表达“抛售股票”。

8月21-24日，华尔街主要股票指数（道琼斯、纳斯达克、S&P 500）连续两个交易日经历暴跌，由于担忧中国及其他新兴市场（emerging markets）的经济放缓（slowdown），投资者疯狂抛售股票，市场陷入恐慌。那么抛售股票的英文如何表达呢？

抛售股票的英语说法是：selloff（或sell-off, 恩，我没骗你，这的确就是1个单词）。Investopedia对selloff的定义如下：The rapid selling of securities, such as stocks, bonds and commodities. The increase in supply leads to a decline in the value of the security.（快速卖出证券，比如：股票、债券、商品。供给的增加导致证券的价值下跌。）

Investopedia进一步探讨了导致selloff的原因：A sell-off may occur for many reasons. For example, if a company issues a disappointing earnings report, it can spark a sell-off of that company’s stock. Sell-offs also can occur more broadly. For example, when oil prices surge, this often sparks a sell-off in the broad market (say, the S&P 500) due to increased fear about the energy costs companies will face.（抛售可能基于多种原因，如：公司的收入报告不及预期会导致公司股票遭抛售。而油价飚升，则会触发市场的大范围抛售，因为投资者担忧上市公司的能源成本会上升进而影响利润。）

当sell和off连写时，selloff是一个名词。意思是：抛售的行为。当sell和off分开写时，则变成一个动词短语：sell off。意思是：进行抛售。比如：investors are selling off stocks due to worries of a global economic slowdown. 最后，我们看几个关于如何使用sell-off的地道英语例句：

U.S. stocks were slammed Friday in a global stock selloff that one well-known macro strategist argues is about China and weakness in emerging markets, with a dash of Federal Reserve rate-hike fear thrown in. (Source: This selloff is about China and emerging markets, with a dash of Fed) （因全球市场大范围抛售，美国股市周五遭受重创，一位知名宏观经济策略师认为市场的下挫由于中国及新兴市场疲软导致，另外，对于美联储加息预期的担忧也脱不了干系。）

The intense selloff on Wall Street forced the Dow and S&P to shed almost 6% for the week, with the Nasdaq declining nearly 7% for the week, as traders across the globe worried about sustained weakness in China.(Source: Crushed: Dow Enters Correction Territory After Biggest Selloff in Four Years) （由于全球交易者担忧中国经济的持续疲软，华尔街遭遇大幅抛售，导致本周道指及标普重挫6%，纳指更是暴跌逾7%。）

Hook up with在美语口语里是什么意思?

July 10, 2016August 21, 2015 by Will

Hook这个词在美式口语中经常出现，而短语hook up也是一个常用的口语词组，hook up的字面意思是：fasten, connect, assemble (with a hook or hooks) 引申出的意思则是：meet with, associate with, make a social appointment with…，即：约会、交往、社交。

例如：He never had a decent job until he hooked up with this company. 他一直没有体面的工作，直到和现在这家公司挂上钩。再如：Fancy hooking up with you here, Bill. How have you been?（真没想到在这里遇见你，Bill，你最近好吗？）如果是替人约见某人，也可以说：hook up somebody with someone.

最后，还有一个相当口语化，非正式（informal）的含义：to have casual sex or a romantic date without a long-term commitment. （发生比较随意的性关系，或不以长期为目的地进行约会）。例句：He doesn’t know her very well, but he hooked up with her a couple of times. 他和她不是很熟，但和她发生过几次关系。在这种语境下，hook up翻译为：“钓上、泡上”倒是不错的选择。

在Natalie Portman、Ashton kutcher主演的2011年爱情轻喜剧《No Strings Attached》中，内心缺乏安全感的Emma尽管深爱着Adam，在表明上却拒绝与Adam进一步发展关系，并告诉他：“Go hook up with someone else.”（去找别人上床吧。）当然，尽管历经波折，最终二人还是在一起并幸福相爱。

Beau在美式英语中的常用意思是什么?

January 31, 2020August 20, 2015 by Will

在国内在线词典里查询单词Beau的意思，你会得到一连串的解释，包括：男朋友；花花公子；情郎；喜修饰者；纨绔子弟；求爱者等等。

这些解释都没有错。实际上，随着时代的变化，这个词的用法也在不断演变。Beau这个词源自法语：“beau”，意思是美貌的，漂亮的。发音是/boʊ/。较早常用的含义包括：花花公子、纨绔子弟、过分注重外貌、打扮的男子。（另外需要注意，beau的复数形式是beaux，发音为/boʊz/）

但如今，Beau在美国英语里用得更多，或更为主要的含义是：男友、男伴。作为“男友”使用时，可与boyfriend互换（interchangeable）。但除了表示一般的boyfriend意思之外，Beau还可以用来表示一种短暂陪伴、不固定的恋爱关系，有时双方可能只是出于性的需要而交往。而boyfriend则相对更为稳定、正式，彼此注重承诺（more committed）。Urbandictionary对beau有这样的解释：A guy who is a love interest, but not necessarily anything official. Someone who a girl is casually dating, hooking up with, seeing or mutually flirting with. A nicer term for a butt-buddy. 在这里，beau更可以理解为“性伴”。

Wiktionary还指出，Beau所具有的以下两种含义已经较少使用（dated）：（1）A man with a reputation for fine dress and etiquette; a dandy or fop.（2）A male lover; a boyfriend. 如今，Beau在美语里最常用的意思是“A male escort”（男性玩伴、伴游）。Will在网上看到有把new beau翻译为“新欢”的，倒是相当贴切。如这个例子：She appeared with her new beau.（她携新欢一同现身。）

也许正因为具有比boyfriend更为复杂的内涵，beau这个字眼经常出现在美国娱乐八卦，甚至刑事案件的新闻头条中。前两天，Khloe Kardashian的前夫Lamar Odom就有对前妻的新男友发出警告：别动我的女人！（Lamar Odom still calls Khloe Kardashian his wife and offers warning to her new beau）。而最近不幸离世的Bobbi Christina，以及女演员Edena Hines，她们的男友都无一例外被媒体称为Beau。或许这就是beau和boyfriend的区别？

最后，和大家分享一个记忆beau这个单词的小技巧：它刚好由单词beautiful的前四个字母组成哦。这下你再也不会为记不住这个奇怪的源自法语的单词而烦恼啦！