| 单词 | 可适用 |
| 释义 | 〔minimal〕Under the strict interpretation ofminimal, this sentence should mean only "Alcohol has an unpleasant effect when I have eaten nothing.”If the looser interpretation is allowed, however,the sentence can also mean “ . . . when I have eaten a bit.”Presented with the sentence, 29 percent of the Usage Panel said that it could have only the "eaten nothing" (that is, the strict) interpretation;34 percent said that it could have only the "eaten a bit" (that is, the looser) interpretation;and 37 percent said that it could have either meaning.Thus the looser sense ofminimal is accepted by 71 percent of the Panel and must be considered acceptable in nontechnical use. · In an analogous shift,the verbminimize is often used to mean "to reduce,” an extension of its strict etymological sense of "to reduce to the smallest possible level.”This looser usage is the result of the imprecision that usually attaches to the use of the verb in most nontechnical contexts.When a manager announces thatThe company wants to minimize the risk of accidents to line workers, we naturally interpret the manager as meaning that the risk is to be reduced to the smallest level consistent with considerations of efficiency and cost,not that risks are to be reduced to the lowest level logically possible.Even when used with allowable imprecision, however, the verbminimize should carry some implication that the relevant quantity is reduced as much as could reasonably be expected in the circumstances.Thusminimize retains at least an approximately superlative sense and so is inconsistent with modification by adverbs such asgreatly or considerably, which imply that the verb is being used as a simple synonym forlessen or reduce. 若句中的minimal 的意思比较严格， 那么这一句就只能理解为“当我什么没吃时喝酒会搞得我很难受。”但是如果比较宽泛的词义得到承认，那么这一句同时也有“…当我吃过一点东西时”这层意思。百分之二十九的用法专题使用小组成员认为这一词只能当“什么都不吃”（即严格意义上的词义）来讲；百分之三十四的成员说它只有“吃过一点”（即宽泛一些的）词义；百分之三十七的成员说两种含义都可适用。所以minimal 宽泛的含义被用法专题使用小组的百分之七十一的成员接受。 与其相类似的是，动词minimize 经常被用来指“减少”， 是其“减少到最可能小的水平”的严格意义上的延伸。这一较宽泛的含义是非技术性文章使用这一动词的不精确性而带来的结果。当一个经理宣称公司试图将生产线上工人面临出事故的风险降至最低， 我们自然会认为经理的意思是工厂的事故风险将被降至一个同时又考虑效率和成本的最小程度，而不是逻辑上可以达到的最低程度。即使在可以允许不精确的程度内使用时，动词mininize 也应有一层隐含的意思， 即其相对数量已被减少到了情况所期望的合理的程度。这样，minimize 至少仍然保留着一种大致为最高级的意思， 因而它与这些副词如greatly 或 considerably 不能搭配使用， 因为这些副词暗示着这一动词被当成了lessen 或 reduce 简单同义词而使用 〔contrary〕Balky describes an animal or a mechanical device that stops short and does not proceed or continue in operation;the word is also applicable to analogous human behavior: Balky 形容突然停住不再前进的动物或者突然停下来不再继续运作的机械装置；这个词也可适用于与某些类似人的行为： 〔brunette〕Brunette was for a long time used to denote a woman having a dark complexion; now it is used chiefly in reference to hair color.The general practice is to use the formbrunette to refer only to women, withbrunet as a less frequently used variant that can be applied as well to men and mixed groups. The distinction, like the one betweenblonde and blond, has been regarded as carrying sexist implications.In this case, however, it is difficult to see how the problem can be easily resolved.It is unlikely thatbrunette could be pressed into service as a neutral term, since the suffix-ette is too closely associated with marked feminine gender. Brunet is theoretically available for both sexes but is rarely applied to men, whose corresponding coloration is typically described simply as "brown.”It would, of course, be possible to usebrown for the hair color of both sexes, if only that word could be redeemed from the associations of drabnessthat led to the adoption of the substitutebrunette in the first place. See Usage Note at blond ,-ette Brunette 过去很长一段时间用来指肤色黝黑的女人； 现今多用于指头发的颜色。通常brunette 只指女人， 而不如其常用的变体brunet 可用于指男人和男女都有的群体。 两词的区别正如blonde 和 blond 的区别， 被看成带有性别的含意。即使如此也很难看出如何轻易地解决两词之间区别的这一难题。brunette 不可能被看成一个中性词， 因为后缀-ette 与女性紧密联系。 Brunet 从道理上来说适用于男人和女人，但很少用于指男人。 男人相应的肤色仅用brown表述即可。当然，brown 也可适用于指男女两性的头发颜色， 只要此词不再与卖淫联系在一起。正是由于这一联系brunette 才首先被用作替代词 参见 blond,-ette |
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