参考词典:Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary ,Collins Advanced Learner’s Dictionary。
今日学习单词:remain 。
现在第一眼看到 remain 浮现在脑海里的就是“剩下的”,剩下的就是一片空白 … 而且搞不清楚它到底是动词还是形容词,既然今天学到这个词,那就好好查一查。
1: to be left when the other parts are gone or have been used(无宾语)
Little remained after the fire.
大火之后所剩无几。
Only two minutes still remain in the game.
比赛就剩两分钟了。
The memory of that day will remain [=stay] with me for the rest of my life.
那一天的回忆将伴随我的余生。
第一个意思就是我印象中的“剩下的”,只不过精确了许多。强调了 to be left,状态是 when the other parts are gone or have been used。该消失的都已经消失了,该用的都已经使用了,总有东西被“剩下”。莫名其妙的想到了《盛夏的果实》,当年有多少人都听成了“剩下的果实”。
2 : to be something that still needs to be done, dealt with, etc. (不可用进行时,无宾语)
The question/mystery remains: who fired the shot?
— often followed by to + verb
现在最令人费解的是:谁开的枪?(别的问题都解决了,就「剩」这一个问题了)
Much work remains to be done. [=there is much work still to be done]
还有好多工作没做。
It remains to be seen [=it is uncertain] whether or not she was lying.
她到底撒没撒谎还有待考证。
这个义项中我理解 remain 主要是指(未完成/处理的)事情需要被完成/处理。
3: to stay in the same place or with the same person or group : to stay after others have gone(常后接副词或介词,略正式)
She remained in Boston after she finished college.
她大学毕业后留在了波士顿。
He remained with the team.
他依旧是团队的一员。
这里,remain 表达了一种状态,即同一个人停留在原地或留在原来的集体或组织。
4 a: to continue in a specified state, condition, or position(不可用进行时,相当于系动词)
She remained [=kept, stayed] calm.
她一直很平静。
4 b: to continue to be something specified
The weather remained cold.
天气依旧很冷。
The victim's identity remains a mystery.
受害者的身份依然是个迷。
Remain 的这个用法在写作和口语中最为常见,尤其是《经济学人》杂志中,引用今天现象级英语每日一词推送中的例子:
“remain”几乎在每期《经济学人》中都会出现。它可以作不及物动词,也可以作系动词,今天的“每日一词”侧重后者。
顾名思义,系动词连接主语和宾语,因此“remain”和“be”动词几乎可以同义替换(上面例句中的 remain 就可以换成 is)。不同点在于(正如英英释义中说的),“remain”强调状态的稳定性或延续性。
“remain” 后面可以接形容词,常接 “un”开头的形容词,比如 unclear, unchanged, unanswered, unproven。来看两个例子:
“remain“后也可以接名词,比如常见的有 a secret, an enigma:
The fate of the injured remains unclear.
“remain”后面接“unclear”,意思是伤者的命运未卜。很多关于事故、灾难的新闻报道中会出现这句话。
马云退休后,《经济学人》进行了报道,开头段讲个了笑话:BAT(百度、阿里巴巴、腾讯)中,如果其中一位核心领导不幸被淹死的话,他们公司的股票会受到什么样的影响?
作者是这样写的:
If it were Mr Ma of Alibaba, its shares would fall. If it were Mr Ma of Tencent, they would remain unchanged. And if it were Mr Li of Baidu, they would rise.
老师总结的很好,remain 在作为系动词时,强调状态的稳定性或者延续性。词典释义中的“She remained calm.”表示就是“稳定性”,表示情绪的状态很稳定;“The weather remained cold.” 表示天气状态的延续性,之前很冷,现在还是很冷。
书面语中,对于事实的强调,也常用 remain,比如the fact remains:
used to stress that a statement is true and that its truth is not affected or changed by a previous statement
现在分词形式remaining可以作为形容词,意思就是“剩下的,剩余的”
Add the remaining ingredients to the sauce.
把剩下的原料加入酱汁中。
今日造句作业:
1. 中秋节一直是中国人最喜欢庆祝的节日之一。
The Mid-Autumn Day remains one of the most celebrated holidays in China.
2. 重启健身一个月了,一直坚持严格的饮食计划,少碳水,多吃优质脂肪。这不过节嘛,和家人一起去吃了一次海底捞,结果回来各种不适,肚子呼噜作响,不断地跑卫生间,但又无果而归。看来以后还是少吃麻辣火锅吧。对,我的意思是港式火锅吃起来!
The spicy hot-pot can not remains my favorite foods anymore.