田间小站 田间小站 昨天
straddle 英 [ˈstrædl] 美 [ˈstrædl]
TEM8
外刊例句
A niche business straddling journalism and oil is proving surprisingly lucrative.
横跨新闻业和石油业的利基业务利润之丰厚令人惊讶。
——《经济学人》
A plan by officials in an Indonesian city to ban women from straddling motorbikes has prompted an outcry from critics, who say local leaders are infringing on women’s safety and freedom in the name of religion.
印度尼西亚一城市所提出的禁止女性跨坐摩托车的提议,引起了批评人士的强烈抗议,他们认为当地领导人是在以宗教的名义危害女性的安全、侵犯她们的自由。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] sit or stand with one leg on either side of
[动词] 跨坐或分腿站立
深入解读
Straddle 一词可能是英语单词 stride (大步走、阔步行走)古英语形式的某种变体,16世纪60年代起原指“把腿张开”,发展到现在则是指“骑、跨坐、分腿站立”或“两腿叉开、叉着双腿行走”,比如:
他戴上头盔,跨坐在摩托车上,然后全速驾车行驶。
He pulled on his helmet and straddled the motorbike, then drove along at full throttle.
为了在船的摇晃中保持平衡,我叉开双腿。我感觉一阵疾风就可以吹翻这艘小船。
My legs straddled to balance myself against the movement of the boat. I felt that a flurry of wind could upset the small boat.
从跨坐或分腿站立这种一边一腿的概念引申在结构、地理、领域、时期等时,则表示“横跨、跨越(河流、道路、边界等)”或“横跨、跨越、同属、融合、兼顾(不同时期、风格、主题、群体、活动领域等)”,比如:
这座山脉横跨法国和瑞士边界。我们越往上爬路就越陡。
The mountains straddle the French-Swiss border. And the path grew steeper as we climbed higher.
这位横贯两种文化的作家的脸上一副破釜沉舟的神情。
The expression on the face of the writer who straddles two cultures was one of grim determination.
等到了1838年后, straddle 更在美式口语中衍生出了“骑墙观望”的贬义,比如:
总统今年已经不是第一次被人指责态度暧昧了。他不该逃避自己的责任。
It's not the first time this year that the president has been accused of straddling an issue. He should not duck out of his responsibilities.
就没有执照的出租汽车司机在机场揽生意的问题,三位候选人都持骑墙观望态度。
All three candidates straddled on the problem of unlicensed taxi drivers touting for business at airports.
名著用例
She sat down next to him, straddling the bench, and pushed a wild mop of red-brown hair out of her eyes.
她叉开腿,跨坐到他身边的长凳上,伸手拨开眼前一团红棕色乱发。
出自美国作家乔治·R·R·马丁所著的史诗奇幻小说系列《冰与火之歌》(A Song of Ice and Fire)。《冰与火之歌》主要描述了在一片虚构的中世纪世界里所发生的一系列宫廷斗争、疆场厮杀、游历冒险和魔法抗衡的故事。2011年,《冰与火之歌》被美国HBO电视网改编成了电视剧《权力的游戏》(Game of Thrones)。
同近义词
bestride: stand astride over; span or straddle
mount: get up on (an animal or bicycle) in order to ride it
span: (of a bridge, arch, etc.) extend from side to side of
,