laggard

英英釋義：a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others

例句：This cut-throat contest is not for losers and laggards.

2. 為什么選這個詞？

“l(fā)aggard”是可數(shù)名詞，意思是“落后者”，從動詞 lag（落后）衍生而來。這個詞是《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》的常客，可以指一個人、一家公司、一支球隊、一個國家。來看幾個例句。

這項比賽競爭激烈，不適合失敗者和落后者，就可以說：

This cut-throat contest is not for losers and laggards.

中國男足一直落后，讓很多國人覺得非常尷尬，我們就可以說：

The Chinese national football team has long been a laggard, an embarrassment to many Chinese.

來看看《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》文章中用到的幾處 laggard：

a) Britain’s economy has gone from a leader to a laggard internationally, as GDP growth has slowed sharply.

想表達(dá)“從領(lǐng)頭羊變成了落后者”就可以直接用“go from a leader to a laggard”這一表達(dá)。

b) Indeed, half a millennium ago Europe might justly have been considered a laggard.

c) On its current path, the country will remain a growth laggard.

這句中，注意 growth 雖然是名詞，但也可以用來修飾 laggard。這個用法在有的字典中查不到，不過在地道英文中還是可以看到的。我們在閱讀中可以多注意積累類似的名詞作修飾語的用法。 3. 怎樣學(xué)會使用這個詞？

1）翻譯下面的句子：

這個國家的經(jīng)濟(jì)一度落后，不過現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)開始迎頭趕上了。

Once a laggard, the economy of this country is starting to catch up.

Long a laggard, this country's economy is beginning to pick up.