indicator
英英釋義：something that can be regarded as a sign of something else
例句：Owning a property in first-tier cities is widely regarded as an indicator of wealth.
2. 為什么選這個詞？
“indicator”是可數(shù)名詞，意思是“指示器、指示牌、標志”。我們來學習它作“標志”的用法，作這層意思講 indicator 和 indication 可以同意替換。如果 A is an indicator/indication of B, 我們會習慣說“從 A 可以看出 B”或“A 是 B 的標志”。我們可以用 indicator 來替換 sign。掌握這個詞可以提高我們口語和寫作的表達質量。下面通過幾個例子來徹底搞定這個詞。
在一線城市擁有房產往往被視作是富有的標志，我們就可以說：
Owning a property in first-tier cities is widely regarded as an indicator of wealth/affluence.
國家之間外交關系的正?；菑脑椎恼皆L問開始的，比如幾年前奧巴馬訪問古巴，成為將近 90 年來第一位訪問該國的美國領導人，就可以說：
Obama's visit to Cuba was an indicator of the improvement in relations between the the USA and Cuba.
從員工流失率可以看出一個公司的文化和競爭力，我們就可以說：
Turnover rates are a good/reliable indicator of a company's culture and competitiveness.
英文中有一個詞專門表示“員工流失率”，那就是 turnover。
最后來看幾個《經(jīng)濟學人》中的例句：
1) Insects are indicators of ecosystem health.
2) When, in 2015, the government auctioned a site off the Massachusetts coast, the winning bid was $281,285—“a very clear indicator of a market that was basically dead”, says Thomas Brostrom, who leads the North American business for Orsted, a Danish energy firm.
3) Nelson Blackley of Nottingham Business School says that a strong indicator of the lack of confidence in the sector is that last year saw the lowest number of sales of malls since the recession in 2008.
3. 練習
1）翻譯
出國旅行已經(jīng)不再被視為是富有的象征了。
Traveling abroad is no longer deemed an indicator of affluence.
Traveling abroad has become an unreliable indicator of wealth.
2）造句
Campus food pantries also serve students who can’t leave campus during breaks and leave too far from the grocery store, so it is also an indicator of campus isolation.
