teen-ternity leave

(名詞/不可數) 陪兒假 - 為了花更多時間陪伴十幾歲的孩子而選擇不工作的一段時間。Teen-ternity leave 這個詞是由 teen (或 teenage) + maternity leave (產假) 拼綴而成。

引句:
Increasingly, parents are choosing to take a career break as their kids reach their teenage years, for reasons including their children's mental health, exam stress or other pressures that are part of teenage life. Known as "teen-ternity" leave, the phenomenon has seen women with high-profile careers leave their jobs in order to devote more time to their children.
[goodto.com, 5 December 2023]

越來越多的父母選擇在孩子到了青少年時暫停職業生涯,原因包括為了孩子的心理健康、考試壓力或青少年生活中的其他壓力。這種現像被稱為「陪兒假」,許多職業生涯備受矚目的女性辭去了工作,以便將更多時間投注在孩子身上。

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vibecession

(名詞/可數) 氛圍衰退- 人們對經濟感到非常擔憂和悲觀的時期,但實際上經濟卻處於強勁地位。這個字是由 vibe (氣氛,氛圍) + recession (經濟衰退) 拼綴而成。

引句:
Oddly, surveys have consistently shown most Americans feeling pretty good about their own financial situation. But they insisted that bad things were happening to the economy — that is, other people. The commentator Kyla Scanlon coined the term "vibecession," now widely used to mean a situation in which negative views about the economy don't seem to match up with the data.
[nytimes.com, 22 January 2024]

奇怪的是,調查一致顯示,大多數美國人對自己的財務狀況都覺得良好。但他們堅稱,經濟 — 也就是其他人 — 正在發生不好的事情。評論員 Kyla Scanlon 創造了 "vibecession" (氛圍衰退) 一詞,現在被廣泛地用來指對經濟的負面看法似乎與數據不相符的情況。

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soft separation

(名詞/可數或不可數) 軟性分居 - 已婚夫妻不再住在一起但沒有離婚的安排。

引句:
Soft separation involves separating without a divorce, and often remaining conjoined in some way, whether that's keeping the same surname or sharing holidays. Ultimately whether a soft separation works out may be down to whether it's a personal choice or a financial necessity. However, in an increasingly harsh world of relationships it's nice to know that amicable break-ups are still possible.
[mailplus.co.uk, 17 October 2023]

軟性分居指的是沒有離婚的分居,而且往往以某種方式保持連結,可能是保留相同的姓氏或是共享假期。軟性分居最終能否成功,可能取決於個人選擇或是財務需要。然而,在一個日益嚴峻的人際關係世界中,知道和平分手仍是可能的,是一件很棒的事。

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quadrupledemic

(名詞/可數) 四疫大爆發 - 新冠肺炎 (Covid-19)、流感 (flu)、呼吸道融合病毒 (respiratory syncytial virus, RSV) 和腺病毒 (adenovirus) 同時大爆發。這個字是由 quadruple + pandemic 拼綴而成。

引句:
Cold and flu viruses slowed to a trickle during the early part of the Covid pandemic only to blast through human populations this year. Some public health experts have called it a "tripledemic," but it might even be described as a quadrupledemic. In the Northern Hemisphere, flu began surging in October, months before its normal season. This year has also seen a steep, early rise in two other viruses, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and adenovirus.
[bloomberg.com, 23 November 2022]

在新冠肺炎大流行初期傳播速度減緩的感冒和流感病毒,今年卻在人群中爆發。 一些公共衛生專家稱其為「三疫大爆發」,但它甚至可能被稱為「四疫大爆發」。 在北半球,流感從十月開始激增,比正常季節早了幾個月。今年,另外兩種病毒 RSV (呼吸道融合病毒) 和腺病毒也出現了提早急劇上揚的情況。

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friendlord

(名詞/可數) 友房東 - 將住家的房間出租給朋友的人。這個字是由 friend + landlord 拼綴而成。

引句:
There's limited data on friendlords, but we know the number of homeowners taking in lodgers has tripled in the last ten years. Housing expert Vicky Spratt notes: "Troublingly, such agreements are as commonplace as they are flimsy, with homeowners from younger generations renting out rooms to lodgers and friends to cover their mortgages."
[thelead.uk, 26 January 2023]

目前關於友房東的資料很有限,但我們知道過去十年來接納房客的屋主人數增加了 3 倍。住房專家 Vicky Spratt 指出:「令人不安的是,此類協議既常見又脆弱,年輕一代的屋主將房間出租給房客和朋友以支付房貸。」

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tour tourism

(名詞/不可數) 巡迴演唱會之旅 - 出國觀看歌手或樂團現場演唱會的活動。巡迴演唱會的英文叫做 concert tour 或簡稱 tour。舉辦巡迴演唱會的歌手叫做 touring singer, touring artist。

引句:
Tour tourism is just like the usual travel that people make to go to another place, only this time they go on a journey to see their favorite artist perform. Expedia, an online travel brand, notices a sharp increase in it and sees Taylor Swift as the reason behind it. Aside from Taylor Swift, another equally famous pop star also caused the soar of tour tourism: Beyoncé and her Renaissance Tour.
[spieltimes.com, 12 November 2023]

巡迴演唱會之旅就像人們平常前往另一個地方旅行一樣,只不過這次是為了去看自己喜歡的歌手的演出。網路旅遊品牌 Expedia 注意到巡迴演唱會之旅急劇增長,並將泰勒絲視為背後的致因。除了泰勒絲之外,另一位同樣著名的流行歌手也帶動了巡迴演唱會之旅的蓬勃發展:碧昂絲和她的文藝復興巡迴演唱會。(譯註:泰勒絲的巡迴演唱會名稱叫做 The Eras Tour)

本文亦刊載在下列網址:
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broken rung

(名詞/可數,通常用單數) 斷裂的梯級 - 某人在職業生涯的初期階段可以快速地晉升,但之後就很難獲得更高職位的情況。參見 glass ceiling (無形限制,無形頂障,通常指職務晉升中無法逾越的限制)。

引句:
Although women have made gains in representation at the senior level, advancements are slower at the manager and director levels. "The 'broken rung' is the biggest barrier to women's advancement," said Rachel Thomas, Lean In's CEO and co-founder. "Companies are effectively leaving women behind from the very beginning of their careers, and women can never catch up."
[cnbc.com, 18 October 2023]

雖然女性擔任高層職位的人數有所增加,但在經理和主任級別上,晉升的速度則較慢。Lean In 的執行長暨共同創辦人 Rachel Thomas 說:「『斷裂的梯級』是女性升遷的最大障礙。」她說:「公司實際上是從女性職業生涯一開始就將她們拋在後面,而女性永遠無法趕上。」

本文亦刊載在下列網址:
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bidirectional charging

(名詞/不可數) 雙向充電 - 一種可將電動車電池中的電力轉移出車輛並用來提供其他設備電力的系統。

引句:
One of the most talked about features in the EV world works only when your car is parked: Bidirectional charging allows owners to turn their vehicles into four-wheeled batteries, sending power back to their homes, appliances and even to the utility grid. Currently, bidirectional charging is available in only a handful of cars. But its popularity is growing: GM announced that the technology will come standard in all its electric vehicles by model year 2026.
[cnet.com, 4 September 2023]

電動車界最受關注的功能之一只有在汽車停車時才有作用:雙向充電可讓車主將他們的車輛變成四輪電池,將電力輸送回他們的住家、電器用品甚至公用電網。目前,只有少數汽車支援雙向充電。但它受歡迎的程度正與日俱增:通用汽車 (GM) 宣布,到 2026 年,該技術將成為其所有電動車的標準配備。

本文亦刊載在下列網址:
https://htmfiles.englishhome.org/main/comp.htm

hortifuturism

(名詞/不可數) 園藝未來主義 - 一種花園設計風格,通常受到科幻小說的啟發,以不尋常的植物、非常明亮的色彩,以及使花園在夜間看起來很吸引人的燈光為特色。

引句:
Expect to see bold and bright colors in 2024 with gardens that look straight out of a science fiction movie. Coined "hortifuturism" by Garden Media, the trend replaces cold, metallic hues with vibrant color. With this trend, the brand anticipates more terrariums, survivalist gardens, night gardens, neon-colored plants, and foliage with bright variegation.
[marthastewart.com, 27 October 2023]

預計在 2024 年,您將看到大膽而明亮的色彩,花園就像是科幻電影中的場景。 Garden Media 創造了「園藝未來主義」一詞,這一趨勢是以鮮豔的色彩取代了冰冷的金屬色調。隨著這一趨勢,該品牌預計將出現更多的玻璃栽培器皿、生存主義花園、夜間花園、霓虹色植物和色彩鮮豔的枝葉。

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dexting

(名詞/不可數) 簡訊約會 - 與您在約會軟體上認識的人互傳許多文字訊息,但從未親自見過他們進行面對面的約會。

引句:
If you've ever found yourself in a back and forth texting marathon with a potential partner only to wind up with no actual in-person date to show for your time, you've probably been a victim of dexting. A combination of "dating" and "texting", dexting is when people form strong bonds over text after meeting on a dating app but never actually arrange a real date.
[glamourmagazine.co.uk, 7 September 2023]

如果您發現自己與可能的伴侶進行了一場來來回回的簡訊馬拉松,結果卻沒有實際的面對面約會,那麼您可能就是簡訊約會的受害者。Dexing 是由「約會」(dating) 和「簡訊」(texting) 組合而成,是指人們在約會軟體上認識後透過簡訊或文字訊息建立了牢固的聯繫,但實際上從未安排過真正的約會。

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