
swallows
词源
源自古英语'swealwe',与古高地德语'swalawa'和拉丁语'hirundo'(燕子)有关。动词意义来自同一词根,表示'咽下'的动作。
noun
❶ 指燕子,一种小型候鸟,翅膀尖长,尾巴分叉,常在空中快速飞行捕食昆虫。
“Swallows return to our village every spring.”
(每年春天燕子都会飞回我们村庄。)
“A flock of swallows circled above the lake.”
(一群燕子在湖面上空盘旋。)
verb
❶ 指吞咽的动作,将食物或液体从口腔送入食道。也可以比喻性地表示忍受或接受不愉快的事物。
“She swallows her medicine with a glass of water.”
(她用一杯水吞下了药片。)
“He swallowed hard before answering the difficult question.”
(在回答这个难题前,他艰难地咽了咽口水。)
常见短语
one swallow doesn't make a summer — 谚语,意思是单凭一个迹象不能断定整体情况,类似于中文的'一燕不成夏'。
“Just because you passed one test doesn't mean you'll succeed - remember, one swallow doesn't make a summer.”
(仅仅通过一次考试并不意味着你会成功 - 记住,一燕不成夏。)
swallow one's words — 指收回自己说过的话,通常是因为意识到说错了或情况发生了变化。
“After seeing the evidence, he had to swallow his words and admit he was wrong.”
(看到证据后,他不得不收回自己的话并承认错误。)