
sleepers
词源
源自中古英语 slepere,与 sleep 同源,最初指睡觉的人,后引申出卧铺、枕木等含义。
noun
❶ 指卧铺车厢或卧铺座位,特指火车上可以平躺睡觉的座位或床位。
“We booked sleepers for the overnight train to Paris.”
(我们预定了去巴黎的夜班火车卧铺。)
“The sleeper compartment has comfortable beds and privacy curtains.”
(卧铺车厢配有舒适的床铺和隐私帘。)
❶ 指潜在的成功者或后来居上者,形容起初不被看好但最终表现出色的人或事物。
“That startup was a sleeper and now dominates the market.”
(那家初创公司起初不被看好,现在却主导了市场。)
“The movie turned out to be a sleeper hit of the year.”
(这部电影成了年度黑马。)
noun
❶ 指铁轨下的枕木,用于固定和支撑铁轨的木质或混凝土构件。
“Workers are replacing the old wooden sleepers with concrete ones.”
(工人们正在用混凝土枕木替换旧的木质枕木。)
“The railway track is supported by thousands of sleepers.”
(铁轨由数千根枕木支撑。)
常见短语
sleeper hit — 指起初不被看好但后来意外获得巨大成功的作品,如电影、歌曲等。
“The low-budget film became a sleeper hit, earning ten times its production cost.”
(这部低成本电影成为黑马,票房收入是制作成本的十倍。)
sleeper agent — 指长期潜伏的间谍,平时过着普通生活,直到被激活执行任务。
“The novel features a sleeper agent who lived as a teacher for 20 years before being activated.”
(小说描写了一名潜伏特工,以教师身份生活20年后才被激活。)