今天要來介紹的單字是認真的、勤奮的、刻苦的等等用法，通常我們只會想到hardworking or diligent，但其實還有許多同義字可以代換，就讓我們繼續看下去吧(好老套😂😂
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assiduous 勤勉的、小心翼翼的 (a.)
➡️ assiduous in sth，也可用來形容名詞，例如 assiduous efforts
Eg. Alex was assiduous in his attendance at church.
Alex每週都勤勉的去教堂做禮拜。
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conscientious 煞費苦心的、盡責的
➡️ 通常用來形容努力完成自己份內的事情
Eg. A conscientious teacher may feel inclined to take work home.
一個認真負責的老師就會想要把工作帶回家去做。
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industrious 勤勉的、勤奮的 (a.)
➡️就是跟hardworking一樣的意思😂
Eg. If you are industrious you can finish the job before work.
你如果勤快些就能在天黑之前完成這項工作了。
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sedulous 仔細的、聚精會神的 (a.)
➡️ 比較像diligent那種感覺，投入很多心血在某個事情上
Eg. Sandra is a sedulous student who leaves great impressions on all the teachers.
Sandra是個很勤學的學生，她讓許多老師都留下深刻的印象。
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indefatigable/preserving不屈不撓的、堅持不懈的 (a.)
➡️ 有determined的意味，從fatigue(疲累)可以感受到就是不怕累、不懈怠的概念。
Eg. Lin is an indefatigable campaigner for human rights.
Lin是一個不屈不撓的人權運動倡導者。
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studious 用功的、好學的(a.)
Eg. Debra is a very quiet and studious girl.
Debra是個文靜且勤奮好學的女生。

#EZTALK #你不知道的美國大小事 #ratVSmouse
🇺🇸 Idioms 美國生活用語：老鼠 rat╱mouse 🐁

說到美國老鼠，你會想到可愛的米老鼠，還是《料理鼠王》裡頭的老鼠？趁鼠年第一天，來介紹老美眼中的老鼠！

💪順便搞懂 rat 跟 mouse 的不同之處吧！

1⃣ rat
2⃣ rat out/on
3⃣ smell a rat
4⃣ the rat race
5⃣ quiet at a mouse
6⃣ poor as a church mouse
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As we enter the Year of the Rat, it’s a good time to think about rodents and their cultural significance. The first animal in the Chinese Zodiac, rats are associated with intelligence, diligence and ambition. And people born in the Year of the Rat can look forward to being wealthy and successful.

鼠年即將到來，正好來介紹一下鼠類跟其文化意涵。身為十二生肖排名第一，老鼠通常會讓我們想到聰明、勤勞且有野心。鼠年出生的人可望成功富有。

In America, however, rats don’t have such a positive image. They are seen as dirty pests that steal food and spread disease. It’s therefore no accident the rat-related idioms are all negative. 1⃣ First, the term “rat” itself. In colloquial American English, a rat is a deceptive, disloyal person or an informant. Ex: Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!

不過在美國，老鼠可就沒有這麼正面的形象。牠們被視為髒東西，愛偷食物並且散播疾病，所以沒有意外地，跟老鼠有關的美國用語都是負面的。首先來看看 rat 這個字，在美式口語英文中，講某人是 rat，就是說他是「騙子、不忠實」，或是「告密者」。如：Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!（別相信湯米，他是個騙子！）

2⃣ “Rat” can also be used in the verb phrase “rat out/on,” which means “to inform on sb.” Ex: The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time. 3⃣Another phrase is “smell a rat,” which means “to suspect an instance of wrongdoing, deception or betrayal.” Ex: The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime. 4⃣Finally, “the rat race” describes the intense competition and long hours of the urban work environment. Ex: Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.

因此 rat 也可延伸作為動詞：rat out/on，指「出賣某人」，如：The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time.（那個小偷出賣他的同夥逃避坐牢。）另一個片語則是 smell a rat，指「發覺有可疑之處」，如：The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime.（目擊者看到嫌犯離開案發現場時覺得行為可疑。）最後是 the rat race，用來形容職場競爭激烈且工時長的現象。如：Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.（艾瑞克夢想著離開這競爭激烈的工作環境，去鄉下種田。）

While the Chinese “shu” is usually translated as “rat,” it can also refer to mice. And mice have a slightly better reputation in English than rats. Mice are small, quiet and shy, so 5⃣ “quiet at a mouse” refers to someone who is shy and timid. Ex: The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse. 6⃣And if someone is “poor as a church mouse,” they’re really poor. This is because churches usually don’t usually store food, so mice who lived in them would have nothing to eat. Ex: My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.

雖然中文字「鼠」常常翻作 rat「大老鼠」，不過也可以指 mouse（複數形 mice）「小老鼠」。在英文中，小老鼠的形象比大老鼠稍微好些。小老鼠體型較小，安靜又害羞，所以 quiet as a mouse 可以用來形容某人「害羞膽怯的」，如：The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse.（我們班新來的學生很害羞。）要是說某人 poor as a church mouse，就是說他們「非常窮」。由來是因為教堂通常不會儲藏食物，所以住在教堂裡的老鼠根本沒東西可吃。如：My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.（我父母在我出生時候非常窮。）

【✍重點單字】
1. rodent「嚙齒類動物」
2. Chinese Zodiac「十二生肖」：zodiac指西洋占星的十二星座。
3. diligence「勤奮」：當名詞，形容詞 diligent。
4. it’s no accident that…「沒有意外，……」
5. colloquial「口語的」：相對於書寫文字而言，較不正式的說法。
6. deceptive「愛騙人、說謊的」：當形容詞，名詞 deception。
7. informant「告密者」
8. urban「都市的」：相反詞為 rural「鄉下的」。
9. reputation「名聲」

#鼠年行大運 #鼠錢鼠不完
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🔔 按下「搶先看」，每週五【美國大小事】，由 Judd 編審分享最即時美國新鮮事！想知道更多美國文化，請看 👉 http://bit.ly/EZTalk嚴選

[詞彙區別] on the contrary, in contrast, on the other hand 的用法區別

在學術英文寫作，常常會需要做兩個觀點的正反面比較，或是提出另外一種看法，有三個最常見的片語可供選擇：on the contrary，in contrast 與 on the other hand，但這三種片語容易混淆常常造成寫作者的困擾，以下老師提供每個片語的解釋和用法，給同學參考，希望對同學有幫助。

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◆on the contrary: （恰恰相反、相反地）

Use “on the contrary” when you have just said or implied that something is not true and are going to say that the opposite is true.

用來表示與先前的看法相反或極不相同，或表示先前看法的不是真的，現在說的才是真的。

E.g.
When I first met him, I thought he was a modest and gentle person. On the contrary, he is arrogant and ruthless.

A: I hear you enjoy running.
B: On the contrary, I find it to be tiresome.

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◆by contrast, in contrast (to/with): （對照之下、與……成對比）

Use “by contrast” or “in contrast (to/with)” to show that you are mentioning a very different situation from the one you have just mentioned.

“In contrast” and “by contrast” mean the same thing: the act of comparing in order to show differences. The difference lies in the way the words are used. “In contrast” is usually followed by “to” or “with” and requires a noun to follow it. “By contrast” is usually followed or preceded by the subject of the sentence.

In contrast 和 by contrast 意義相同，都是用來對比兩件事或兩個人之不同處。但他們的用法不盡相同。In contrast 通常會與 to 或 with 連用，用法如下:in contrast to/with+名詞。

E.g.
In contrast to the diligent bee, the butterfly seems to fly around without a clear purpose.

In contrast with most local programs, the federal government's plan looks beyond just economic growth.

Cats usually sleep in the day. Dogs, by contrast, never settle down.

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◆on the other hand: （另一方面）

Use “on the one hand” to introduce the first of two contrasting points, facts, or ways of looking at something. It is always followed later by on the other hand or on the other.

是對同一件事物，提供不同角度或切入點，或對剛才的說明再加入一個不同的事實。

E.g.
The writing class is taking up too much of my time; on the other hand, I’m learning a lot about writing.

I hate working in a clothing store, but on the other hand, there are also some advantages.

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總結來說，在寫文章的時候，如果你已經預設了立場，要表達與之前的說法相反或強調之前的說法是錯誤的，可以用 on the contrary。若要做客觀的觀點對比，不加入個人對錯想法，只是單純比較時就用 by contrast 或 in contrast (to/with)。而 on the other hand 則是說明一件事情的兩面，或是不同的看法，雖有部分人士認為此片語不夠正式，但在學術語料庫出現的頻率可是這三個裡面最高的。

References
http://mail.scu.edu.tw/~cynthiay/4-15.htm
http://newgenerationresearcher.blogspot.tw/2010/02/on-contrary-in-contrast-on-other-hand.html
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/contrary.html
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand

詞彙區別: http://tinyurl.com/mzmvsns