VOA慢速英语2018 牛津辞典2018年年度词汇是“有毒的”（在线收听）

Oxford’s Word of the Year Is…Toxic

The Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year is…toxic.

牛津词典的年度词汇是“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.”

这家英国出版社将这个形容词定义为“有毒的。”这个词于17世纪50年代首次出现在英语中，它来自于拉丁语单词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.

这个拉丁单词实际上来自于希腊语toxon，意思是弓箭。在古希腊，弓箭手会将毒药涂在箭头上。

Why was toxic chosen?

为何选择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.

牛津选择最能描述过去一年氛围的单词作为年度词汇。这个单词也应该具备作为文化重心术语的持久潜力。

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

牛津词典称其数据显示，2018年其网站上toxic这个单词的搜索量上升了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.

这些搜索始于身在英国的俄罗斯前间谍谢尔盖·斯基里帕尔及其女儿的有毒化学物中毒。然后，叙利亚的一次有毒化学武器袭击造成至少40人死亡，并引发美国发动导弹袭击（进行报复）。

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.

在一系列飓风和其它风暴之后，公众还担心有毒气体。其他人担心印度燃烧有毒废料和全球的有害空气污染。在美国佛罗里达州，由于有毒藻类，大量死鱼被冲上海滩。

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.

但是越来越常见的”有害环境“一词与污染无关。牛津词典表示，人们搜索这句话是关于不愉快的工作环境，包括谷歌员工的全球罢工。他们抗议性骚扰、不公平薪酬和歧视。

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际关系，尤其是反性侵的Metoo运动，以及布雷特·卡瓦诺作为美国最高法院大法官的提名确认听证会。

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是另一个2018年热门词汇。牛津词典将这个单词解释为“通过心理手段让别人接受错误信息或怀疑自己失去理智，从而操纵别人的行为。”

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.

牛津词典称，这个词一直被用于叙述川普政府宣称的“媒体传播假新闻”。Gaslighting也被用于叙述英国政府的脱欧立场。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

bow - n. a weapon used for shooting arrows

potential - n. a chance or possibility that something will happen or exist in the future

hurricane - n. an extremely large, powerful and destructive storm with very strong winds

algae - n. simple plants without leaves or stems that grow in or near water

manipulate - v. to change something in an unfair or selfish way

depiction - n. the description of something or someone using words, story...

sanity - n. the condition of having a healthy mind