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辨析四个表示 “减轻” 的动词:relieve、alleviate、allay、mitigate

[2024年3月13日] 来源:BBC Learning English 编辑:Geilien.cn   字号 [] [] []  

内容简介

一位听众来信询问动词 “relieve、alleviate、allay” 和 “mitigate” 之间有何区别。其中,动词 “relieve”、“alleviate” 和 “allay” 的用法最容易被混淆,因为它们都可以描述 “缓解消极的感受”;而 “mitigate” 的用法则与其它三个词不大一样,它用来表示 “减轻” 什么?本期节目教你如何使用这四个近义词。

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(关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。)

Jiaying
大家好,欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Jiaying. 

Neil
And I'm Neil. Welcome!

Jiaying
本期节目的问题来自一位听众,问题由我来代读。

Question
'Relieve', 'alleviate', 'allay' and 'mitigate'. 感觉这几个单词的意思都差不多,请问在使用时具体的区别是什么?谢谢。

Jiaying
这些动词的含义都与 “让一件不好的事情变得不那么消极”有关。 

Neil
Let's look at 'relieve'. 'Relieve' means to make an unpleasant feeling less strong. It doesn't have to be related to pain, although it can be. 

Jiaying
是的,动词 “relieve” 的意思是 “减轻、缓和一种不愉快的、消极的感受”。这种感受可能但不一定和痛苦有关。“Relieve” 的用法涵盖的范围很广。比如我们可以说:“relieve worries(缓解担忧)”、“relieve pressure(减轻压力)”、“relieve boredom(解闷)”。 

Examples
I did some meditation to relieve my exam worries.
(我静心沉思了一会儿,以缓解我对考试的担忧。)

When I was pregnant, my boss gave me less work to relieve the pressure.
(我怀孕那会儿,老板减少了我的工作量,以减轻我的压力。) 

Neil
'Relieve' is not only used with people. The council might add extra traffic lights to relieve congestion on the roads. 

Jiaying
“Relieve” 不仅可以用来表示 “缓解某人的负面感受”,还可以表示 “减轻问题的严重性”。比如:The council might add extra traffic lights to relieve congestion on the roads. 市政厅可能会增设额外的红绿灯来缓解交通拥堵。 

Neil
Now let's look at 'alleviate'. It's most often used in relation to pain, and it means 'make it less severe'. 

Jiaying
“Alleviate” 最常用来表示 “缓解身体上的痛苦和不适”。常见的包含动词 “alleviate” 的搭配有 “alleviate pain(减轻痛苦)”、“alleviate discomfort(缓解不适)” 和 “alleviate symptoms(缓解症状)”。听两个例句。 

Examples
The doctor gave the patient painkillers to alleviate his suffering.
(医生给病人开了止痛药以减轻他的痛苦。) 

I moved my father's pillow to alleviate the discomfort in his back.
(我调整了父亲枕头的位置,以减轻他背部的不适。) 

Neil
OK. Now, let's look at 'allay'. 'Allay' means to cause someone to feel a strong emotion less. It's quite formal and is usually seen more in written texts than spoken English. 

Jiaying
动词 “allay” 尤其常用来强调 “减轻恐惧、担忧等强烈的负面情绪,从而使人平静下来”。注意,使用 “allay” 的场合通常很正式,相比之下,它更常见于书面文字而不是口语交流中。听两个例句。 

Examples
The managers plan to allay workers' fears about redundancies by calling a meeting.
(经理们准备通过召开一次会议来减轻员工们对裁员事宜的担忧。) 

The teacher allayed the students' academic writing worries by giving them a list of useful phrases they could use.
(老师给了学生们一份他们可以在写作中使用的实用短语表,从而帮助学生们减轻了他们对学术写作的恐惧。) 

Neil
Now, 'mitigate' is slightly different. It means to make something less unpleasant or harmful. 

Jiaying
动词 “mitigate” 与前面讲过的三个动词的含义略有不同。“Mitigate” 的意思是 “减轻一件事情产生的危害”,通常不用来描述缓解人的感受或情绪。比如:“mitigate the effects of something(缓解某事造成的影响)”。 

Neil
For example, a city might limit tourist numbers to mitigate the effects of tourism. 

Jiaying
是的,一座城市可能会通过限制游客的数量来 “mitigate(减轻)” 旅游业造成的负面影响。听两个使用了动词 “mitigate” 的例句。 

Examples
To mitigate uncertainty, our manager first explained why she had called the unexpected meeting.
(为减少不确定性,我们经理首先解释了她为什么要召开这次临时会议。) 

Safety measures are in place in order to mitigate risk.
(为减轻风险,安全措施已落实到位。) 

Neil
So, although they are quite similar, these four words are used in different types of situations. Now, let's summarise, Jiaying.   

Jiaying
好的,总结一下:在四个动词当中,“relieve” 的用法最广泛,可以表示 “缓解不愉快的、消极的感受” 或 “减轻问题的严重性”。动词 “alleviate” 的用法与 “relieve” 相近,但 “alleviate” 则强调 “缓解身体上的痛苦和不适”。动词 “allay” 强调 “缓解强烈的负面情绪,从而使人平静下来”,更常用于书面语而不是口语交流中。动词 “mitigate” 的意思是 “减轻危害”。 

Neil
Remember, if you have a question about the English language you’d like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk  

Jiaying
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye, everyone. 

Neil
Bye!