Irreverent, mischievous, sulky, scant, quell | 经济学人好词好句

Sprung from a rock on a mythical mountain, he overcame early hardship to hone his fighting skills, learning to somersault clouds and to turn each hair on his body into a miniature version of his warrior self. With his mix of mischief and might, he resembles the Hollywood pantheon’s many superheroes. But the Monkey King is different: he is more than 400 years old and comes from China.孙悟空是从一座神秘大山的岩石中蹦出来的，通过克服早期困难磨练了战斗技能，学会了翻筋斗云，并能把身上的汗毛变成小猴。他既调皮又强势，就像好莱坞万神殿中的超级英雄们一样。但是他的不同之处在于：他有400多岁，来自中国。Somersault [ˈsʌmərsɔːlt] 翻筋斗，翻跟头。例句：The gymnast performed a perfect somersault during her routine. (这位体操运动员在她的固定动作中完成了一个完美的空翻。)pantheon [ˈpænθiən]万神殿，众神殿；一群杰出人物。例句：The Pantheon in Rome is a famous ancient temple dedicated to all the gods. (罗马的万神殿是一座供奉众神的著名古代神庙。)Released on Netflix on August 18th, a new animated version of “The Monkey King” is full of bust-ups and slapstick, as Monkey faces down 100 demons and tries to achieve immortality. 8月18日在网飞上映的新版动画版《美猴王》里满是争吵和闹剧，孙悟空要打败100个妖怪，实现长生不老。注：bust-up俚语词汇，常用于英国英语中，主要有以下三种意思：1. 爆炸，爆裂，指物体突然破裂或爆炸。例如：The gas tank had a bust-up and caused a huge fire. (煤气罐破裂了，引起了一场大火。)2. 激烈争吵，冲突，指人之间的激烈争吵、冲突。例如：There were constant bust-ups between the two rival gangs. (这两个敌对帮派之间经常发生冲突。)3. 失败，破产，指商业或个人的失败或破产。例如："The company experienced multiple bust-ups and eventually went bankrupt."slapstick [ˈslæpstɪk]闹剧，滑稽戏；滑稽的，闹剧式的。例句：The actors used slapstick comedy to entertain the audience with their exaggerated movements and funny antics. (演员们用夸张和滑稽的动作来娱乐观众。)The original novel is irreverent—at one point Monkey King urinates on the Buddha’s hand. It tells the story of a monk upstaged by his mischievous companions, including a pig whose ears became wings, a sulky sand monster and the famous talking monkey, also known as Sun Wukong. But with fiction considered a disreputable pastime during the Ming dynasty, the novel was published anonymously and only later ascribed—with scant evidence—to Wu Cheng’en, a clerk’s son who repeatedly failed the exam to get a government job.原著小说很叛逆——有一次孙悟空甚至曾经在如来佛祖的手上撒尿。在这本小说中，唐僧被他的三个徒弟抢了风头，这三个徒弟分别是耳朵变成翅膀的猪八戒，闷闷不乐的沙和尚和那只有名的多嘴猴子，也就是孙悟空。但在明朝，小说作为一种消遣不登大雅之堂，因此《西游记》出版时是匿名的，后来缺乏证据，才将作者定为吴承恩。吴承恩是政府职员之子，曾因多次科举赶考失败而无法入仕。注：Irreverent [ɪˈrɛvərənt] 不敬的，不恭的，不敬畏的。例句：The comedian's irreverent jokes about religion offended some members of the audience. (那位喜剧演员对宗教不敬的笑话冒犯了一些观众。)Mischievous [ˈmɪstʃɪvəs] 淘气的，调皮的，恶作剧的。例句：The mischievous child hid his sister's toy and laughed mischievously. (这个淘气的孩子藏起他姐姐的玩具，顽皮地笑着。)Sulky [ˈsʌlki]生气的，闷闷不乐的，愠怒的。例句：After being scolded, the child sat in the corner with a sulky expression on his face. (被骂后，那个孩子坐在角落里，一脸闷闷不乐的表情。)Scant [skænt] 不足的，缺乏的，不充分的。例句：The teacher gave only scant attention to the student's question and quickly moved on to the next topic. (那位老师对学生的问题漠不关心，很快转向下一个主题。)Each Monkey King retelling has served as a mirror on its times, reflecting the anxieties of its creators. Some interpretations have concentrated on the need for discipline to quell the inner voice.每一部《美猴王》都是时代的一面镜子，能反映出创作者的焦虑。有的解释指出需要通过纪律来平息内心的声音。It will resonate with navel-gazing viewers in the West. As most versions have done, it situates the legend in a stereotyped ancient China, with wispy-bearded men, curved rooftops, pagodas and red lanterns.这会引起只顾自己的西方观众们的共鸣。和大多数版本一样，这部新作中的传说背景仍是一个刻板的古代中国，有留着小胡子的男人、曲线型的屋顶、宝塔和红灯笼。注：navel-gazing俚语词汇，Navel是肚脐眼，navel-gazing指一个人过度关注自己内心、自我反省，而忽视了外部世界或他人的观点和需求。这个词常用于贬义的语境中。wispy-bearded指胡须稀疏或细小的男性。"Wispy"指柔软、细小、薄弱。