密歇根新闻广播 我们语言的"好处"

 

Employee perks² have become increasingly elaborate over the years.

Some jobs come with unlimited³ vacation time and months of paid parental⁴ leave. There are companies that offer a constant supply of free food. This place has on-site car wash facilities, bicycle repair, haircut services and spa treatments.

It's a far cry from stale "all-you-can-drink" break room coffee and the occasional Hawaiian shirt day.

Your job may not have the perks you crave⁵, but don't worry. This edition of That's What They Say has several "perks" and zero detriments⁶.

There are three different meanings that we tend to associate with "perk¹," and all three come from different sources. Also, two "perks" are shortenings of other words, but those words are different.

The "perk" that refers to a bonus that comes with a job or a membership is a shortened version of "perquisite⁷." A perquisite is a small privilege. It's not a word many of us use very often, but it does tend to show up in more formal writings where "perk" would sound too informal.

Another type of "perk" has to do with the aforementioned free coffee that can be found in break rooms across the country. This one is a shortening of "percolate⁸" which means to filter a liquid or gas through a porous⁹ surface. A percolator coffee pot works by forcing boiling water up through the grounds and then back down again -- in other words, it "perks" the coffee.

Notice how both of these "perks" are spelled with a "k" on the end, even though neither of their root words contain that letter? Language can be so awesomely¹⁰ weird¹¹.

Job perks and perked¹² coffee have one more thing in common: They both have the ability to perk you up, or make you feel a bit happier or energetic. That leads us to one more form of "perk."

This last "perk" isn't a shortening of another word. In fact, we don't actually know where this one comes from. The editors of the Oxford¹³ English Dictionary speculate that it may be related to "perch¹⁴." If that's the case, then "perk" probably became a verb meaning to "perch" yourself or life yourself up onto a branch, or pole or other perch.

From there, it's not hard to see how this "perk" could take on a more figurative meaning. To "perk up" is to rise up, to cheer up, to liven up.

Are you aware of any other perks that we didn't mention? Let us know below.

1 perk   

n.额外津贴；赏钱；小费；

参考例句：

• His perks include a car provided by the firm.他的额外津贴包括公司提供的一辆汽车。
• And the money is,of course,a perk.当然钱是额外津贴。

2 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

3 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

4 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

5 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

6 detriments   

n.损害，伤害（detriment的复数形式）

参考例句：

• This paper analyses the piston effect problem in dellling shaft sinking method and its detriments. 本文分析了钻井法凿井中所出现的钻井活塞效应问题及带来的危害。 来自互联网

7 perquisite   

n.固定津贴，福利

参考例句：

• Perquisites include the use of the company car.福利包括可以使用公司的汽车。
• Politics in Britain used to be the perquisite of the property-owning classes.英国的政治以往是有产阶级的特权。

8 percolate   

v.过滤，渗透

参考例句：

• The rain will percolate through the soil.雨水渗入土中。
• New fashions took a long time to percolate down.新时尚要很长时间才能在大众中流行起来。

9 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

10 awesomely   

赫然

参考例句：

• The land is flat, and the views are awesomely extensive. 这里地势平坦，其视野之开阔令人敬畏。 来自互联网
• Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. 让简单事情变复杂是平庸；让复杂事情变简单，惊人地简单，是创造力。 来自互联网

11 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

12 perked   

（使）活跃( perk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣

参考例句：

• The recent demand for houses has perked up the prices. 最近对住房的需求使房价上涨了。
• You've perked up since this morning. 你今天上午精神就好多了。

13 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。

14 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。